


Dance with the Reaper

by GalaxyWanderer_113



Series: Shadows of the Apocalypse [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Robotech, Robotech II: The Sentinels, Robotech Series - Jack McKinney, Robotech The Macross Saga
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Crossover, F/M, Science Fiction, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 115,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25759612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyWanderer_113/pseuds/GalaxyWanderer_113
Summary: Far from home, the Robotech Expeditionary Force cruiser Arcadia and her task force find themselves on the losing end of a fight against the dreaded Invid. To stay alive, the ship executes a desperate maneuver hoping to escape...The Arcadia's survivors now struggle to stay alive as they encounter a different and strange world from any they have known.What will they do when they encounter a pair of Vampire Slayers, and how will the world react to their arrival...?
Series: Shadows of the Apocalypse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868719
Comments: 11
Kudos: 3





	1. Watch your six!

**Author's Note:**

> This is a ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover story. This story will feature original characters and some of the ship names and squadron designations will not be canon as there is not a lot info on REF unit structure beyond canon (e.g. Skull Squadron, 21st Mars Division) and I won't get into the debate about Harmony Gold changing the continuity and disregarding a lot of the material written over the years especially the REF RPG guides. I will try and keep ROBOTECH as close to canon using my OCs, but my main goal is to provide an entertaining story to the reader.
> 
> I just want to say thanks to the creators and writers of both the ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises. They have provided me with hours of enjoyment and entertainment. A special thanks to all those that created many of the ROBOTECH technical reference sites, they were excellent sources of information on the types of mecha and ships.
> 
> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.

#  [](https://postimg.cc/jDpKCVZ8)

# DANCE WITH THE REAPER

Stories in the " _Shadows of the Apocalypse"_ series:

_Dance with the Reaper_

The Coming Storm

Storm of Shadows

#### oOoOo

## CHAPTER ONE  
Watch your six!

_"After the First Robotech War, with Earth barely having survived, the plan was to prevent another war from devastating the planet again. The Pioneer Mission was to travel across the galaxy to establish contact with the Robotech Masters and negotiate a peace. While peace was the primary goal, the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF) was more than ready to wage war on the Robotech Master's doorsteps. What they hadn't expected to find, upon their arrival at Tirol, was the Robotech Masters gone, and the Invid Regent's forces invading the planet…"_

— excerpt from _"The History of the Robotech Expeditionary Force"_

#### oOoOo

#### Vega Corinthi System  
November 23, 2042 (Earth Calendar)

_"Viper-Twelve… Watch your six and stay in formation! Viper-Twelve… EVANS, WAKE UP AND STAY IN FORMATION!"_

"Yes, sir!" replied Viper-Twelve, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Third Lieutenant Cassidy "Cassie" Evans focused her attention, making sure her Veritech Alpha fighter got properly slotted into the squadron's formation. She took another deep breath to keep her nervousness in check.

The last thing she wanted to do was screw up on her first combat mission. It didn't help her nerves seeing the closing mass of enemy targets on her scanner. The Invid fighters were preparing to make their attack run at the task force.

She cleared her mind, pushing back the fear she would forget everything she'd learned in flight and combat school. The words her flight instructors hammered into her, echoed in her head, _"If you get distracted in combat for one moment… you'll be dead in the next!"_

Her flight leader's voice came over the tactical channel, _"Alright Vipers, stay with your wingman. Keep the Invid away from the fleet. Remember, we're supporting the Grim Reapers… they have lead. So everyone, stay frosty. Go weapons hot when we get into range."_

An icy feeling filled Cassie's stomach as she struggled to keep her emotions and thoughts in check, staring at the mass of enemy fighters closing on them. She fought the urge to throw up, seeing how the attacking enemy fighters outnumbered the REF fighters screening the task force. Of everything she was experiencing and thinking, one thought pushed to the forefront.

_Please, God… Don't let me screw up!_

It didn't take long for her heads-up-display (HUD) to lock on targets among the lead ranks of the incoming wave of Invid fighters. She took one more deep breath and pressed the weapon trigger on her control stick. Her Alpha shuddered as a wave of attack missiles roared off her ship, streaking towards their targets.

Space filled with explosions as Cassie's missiles along with missiles launched from other Alphas found their targets.

#### oOoOo

_"_ _REAPER-ONE… BANDIT ON YOUR HIGH SIX!"_ a voice yelled over the tactical channel.

The pilot with the call-sign Reaper-One already knew of the threat, "Roger…" he acknowledged calmly, almost sounding as if he'd just woken up.

He didn't think about what he would do. Years of flying and combat experience made it all like an automatic reflex… much like breathing. The pilot cut his speed and pulled back on his control stick, causing the fighter to shudder slightly from the rapid deceleration. His left hand reached out, pulling back on the controller marked "B".

The pilot could feel his plane shift, beginning its transformation. In his mind, he visualized the shifting of his fighter into Battloid mode. He didn't worry about the transformation impacting his aerodynamics. In space the Battloid moved just as easily as any other mode.

His cockpit shifted down into the Battloid's chest area as the fighter finished its transformation. The pilot re-oriented his thinking with his fighter now transformed into a huge humanoid-shape mecha to face the oncoming attacker. The experience of the pilot showed as he gave the controls a quick light touch to shift and spin the Battloid. His HUD targeting system flashed a resolution as it locked on the Invid fighter.

_Die, Invid bastard!_ the pilot thought, pressing the firing trigger on his control stick. A pair of missiles responded to his commands, launching from the Beta module attached to his fighter, streaking out towards to their target.

The Invid belatedly realized instead of being the hunter, it had become the hunted. It tried to avoid the pair of incoming missiles, but the range was too short to avoid them. A tremendous explosion tore the alien fighter up as the missiles found their target.

Ignoring his latest kill, the pilot turned his Battloid to face another incoming threat. This time he opened fire with his disrupter cannon, firing a quick burst. The burst from the beam weapon caught another Invid fighter, tearing through its central torso, causing it to spin off with its alien pilot now dead.

Reaper-One used the brief respite to get a grasp on the changing tactical situation. His responsibilities included more than just flying his own fighter, he also commanded a Veritech fighter squadron… VF-93, also known as "The Grim Reapers".

"Reaper-One to all Reapers… check in!"

_"_ _Reaper-Two here. Got your six covered, boss,"_ this brought a small smile to Reaper-One's face knowing his wingman was still with him.

The smile faded as the others in his squadron checked in and found he was down four aircraft and pilots. The pilot muttered a few choice swear words as he locked on to another Invid attack craft and launched another short-range attack missile.

Space blossomed with another explosion and Reaper-One took a moment to look back towards the rest of the task force. More swear words erupted upon seeing the task force getting hit hard. He didn't hesitate, shifting back into Fighter mode and pushing the throttle controls hard forward. The Shadow Fighter's engines surged from the Protoculture energy cells feeding them, and the fighter raced back towards the task force.

"Reapers… form up and close up with the task force. We've got leakers, and we got to take them out!" Reaper-One ordered. The rest of the squadron acknowledged, regrouping with their commander to return to their embattled task force.

#### oOoOo

A small group of Invid fighters had broken through the fighter screen and tried to avoid the point-defense weapons of the REF _Ikazuchi-class_ cruiser _Arcadia_. The ship shuddered as the fighters strafed the ship with their plasma cannons.

On the Arcadia's bridge, Commodore April Lau muttered a few choice swear words in both English and Mandarin, studying the tactical displays from her command station. Her grim expression mirrored the situation her ship and the rest of her task force faced. Her ship shuddered again as it took another hit.

"Damage Report?" she demanded.

The Damage Control officer quickly responded, "Launch bays two and five are inoperative. We have hull breaches on decks two, five and six… We've sealed those sections off. Heavy damage reported to turret number two. Minor damage to engine number two. Damage control parties are being deployed. Injuries reported on all decks."

The Commodore absorbed the report as she turned to her communications officer, "Task force status?"

"We've lost the light cruisers Hastings, Dover and Devon. The rest of the task force is reporting differing degrees of damage. All Veritech squadrons are reporting heavy causalities."

"Status of the enemy fleet?"

"First wave of Invid fighters and carriers are being mopped up, but we have another wave of fighters incoming from a second group of Mollusk Carriers. Sensors have picked up a third wave of carriers moving to close with us."

"Are we in range to engage those carriers yet?"

"Not yet, Ma'am! Two minutes and we'll be in range to get a target lock."

Commodore Lau grimaced, hearing the report while studying her bridge scanner displays, _Too long! That next wave of fighters will be on us before we can get in range of their carriers. I wish we had some of those new Synchro Cannons mounted… they pack a punch and can reach out and touch further._

Lau knew even though her task force had suffered heavy damage, they were now too deeply engaged to withdraw without suffering further crippling losses.

She didn't appreciate the irony of her situation because they hadn't planned for or expected this battle. Her task force's mission was to scout for any bases the Invid Regess may have established in the systems between Tirol and Earth.

With the Robotech Expeditionary Force assembling a vast fleet to retake Earth from her Invid occupiers, they had to locate and eliminate any Invid bases between Tirol and Earth. This was to protect the REF's supply lines and support bases as they advanced to take back their homeworld.

The task force was to locate and mark any Invid bases found for follow-up by larger REF forces. Though the fleet was well-armed and equipped to deal with small Invid bases, they were to avoid large straight-up battles like this. Until now, they had made no contact with the enemy as the task force moved from system to system. They had arrived in this system and accidently stumbled on this huge Invid force, apparently heading to Earth.

One of the bridge crew interrupted Lau's thoughts, "Ma'am… The Reapers are falling back to cover us and engage the incoming wave of Invid."

A small smile replaced the grimace as Lau knew she could always rely upon the Grim Reapers to watch her six. The Reapers may not have been as famous as Skull squadron or the Wolf Pack or even infamous like Ghost squadron. Yet, they still had some of the best pilots in the REF with the Arcadia as their base ship. If there was anyone that could turn around the situation it was Captain Paul Coleiro.

Despite his colorful history, and some personal history between them, Lau had nothing but respect and confidence in the Captain and his squadron. He was a hardened veteran of the REF, with years of experience fighting the Invid. That he'd flown with Skull Squadron and Max Sterling added to his reputation, and there was no shortage of pilots wanting to fly with him.

The Reapers were the only squadron in the task force equipped with the new VFA-6S Shadow Fighters, and Lau was thankful for that. This new stealth version of the venerable Alpha fighter held out promise for giving the REF a much-needed edge to overcome the mass of Invid numbers.

New sensor masking technology allowed the fighter to defeat the Invid Protoculture-based sensors, becoming invisible and undetectable to them.

The new disruptor cannon also developed for the fighter gave it heavier firepower to take on the mass attacks used by the Invid. They had also gotten a small supply of the first production run of the unmanned VFA-6S Shadow drone fighter. The results of the new fighters and drones showed the potential of these new weapons against the Invid.

_I wish we had more of those Shadow fighters and drones… they're worth their weight in gold!_ Lau thought, watching her task force's diminished fighter screen reform. The fighters moved to cover the surviving ships of her task force from the next incoming wave of Invid fighters.

It wasn't long before the Weapons Officer called out targets for the ship's point-defense weapons. The ship shuddered from Invid plasma hits as the defenses engaged the incoming threats, all the while more damage reports streamed in.

#### oOoOo

Grim satisfaction filled Cassie as she picked up her thirteenth kill. She didn't dwell on any superstition, being both surprised and happy to still be alive. Her first combat mission wasn't like anything she'd imagined and tried to prepare for. It had gone so fast she didn't have time to think. Her training kicked in, acting and reacting automatically, firing on the enemy with her gun pod and missiles.

She'd witnessed her element leader blow up after getting caught in a crossfire of plasma bursts from a group of Invid fighters. She suppressed her anger, tagging onto Viper-Five, who'd lost his wingman. They went to work taking out a group of Invid fighters ganging up on a heavily damaged _Garfish-class_ light cruiser, floating dead in space.

She heard the call from her squadron leader to form up as it slowly dawned on her they had destroyed all the Invid. Cassie relaxed, thinking it was over. Then came the report of a second inbound wave of Invid fighters. Cassie took a moment to wish she was in one of those new Shadow Fighters. The new fighters were all the talk among the squadrons, and she was eager for the chance to try one out.

She'd already seen one in combat, and it only stoked her excitement about the new fighter. Reaper-One's distinctive markings made the fighter easily recognizable even in a dogfight like this. She'd watched in awe as the Shadow fighter took out five Invid fighters in a matter of seconds with a mix of gunfire and missiles at close range. Reaper-One followed up those kills by launching a wave of missiles from the fighter's attached Beta module. The swarm of attack missiles took out another half dozen incoming Invid fighters.

Cassie had dreamt of being a fighter pilot since she could walk. She fantasized of being in Skull Squadron and flying with legends like Roy Fokker, Rick Hunter, and Max Sterling. It was only in flight school she heard about The Grim Reapers and their record. By the time she finished flight school, she knew if she couldn't fly with Skull Squadron, the Reapers were easily her second choice.

As her—now much diminished—squadron formed up, Cassie caught her breath while studying her scanners. The picture wasn't pretty as the second Invid attack wave, roughly the same size as the first wave, closed the distance. She tried not to dwell on that they'd barely fought off the first wave of Invid as creeping doubts of her mortality edged into her thoughts.

A grimace filled her face as she did an ammo and weapons check to prepare for the next enemy wave. She was almost out of missiles, which meant she would have to rely on her gun pod to see her through this next wave.

Unfortunately, that meant she would have to get into knife fighting range to engage the enemy.

#### oOoOo

On board the Arcadia, Commodore Lau studied the display screen showing the status of her task force and the fighter screen. Her grim face told the story, taking in the friendly blue-colored icons on the main tactical display, each representing a ship and their crew in her task force.

The first wave of Invid attackers had hit her small task force hard, but they had survived with only minimal losses among the fleet ships. Her fighter screen was another matter as her eyes shifted to the large group of red icons, representing the enemy's next attack wave, closing on the task force. She figured her task force could also survive this next attack, but she knew there would be even fewer friendly blue-colored icons to face any further attacks.

Before the next wave of Invid got within range, she reviewed her ship's deployments, making adjustments to ensure their point-defense weapons provided overlapping defensive coverage. A crewman manning one of the bridge sensor stations interrupted her planning.

"Commodore, we've detected a space-fold occurring at coordinates bearing two-four-eight by seven-nine! Range to contact one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers!"


	2. Contact

##  **CHAPTER TWO  
Contact**

_"_ _In the years after what has become known as 'The Arcadia Effect', many scientists have tried to replicate the set of circumstances to explain what happened. Despite the amount of data available from the Arcadia's sensor and engineering logs, all computer simulations and experiments ended with the cruiser being destroyed. Many scientists have been looking for the 'missing variable' that would unlock and explain what happened while others have given up on ever finding the answer. One scientist, looking back on history and the chain of events, summed up the whole thing as 'something destined to happen'…"_

— excerpt from _"The Arcadia Effect – Effects and Evolution of Human Society from 2003 to 2013"_

#### oOoOo

"Report!" Lau ordered, studying the main display screen, experiencing a mix of confusion and surprise at this sudden turn of events.

"Ma'am, sensors have picked up seven large capital-size ships defolding. They're under power and moving on an intercept course with us and the Invid fleet."

"Are they Invid?"

Lau's major fear was that these new ships were Invid reinforcements. Her task force was already taking a beating from the Invid fleet here. If these were Invid ships, it would only increase the odds against them.

"Unknown, Ma'am! Ship configurations match nothing in our databases!"

The prospect of making first contact with an unknown alien species in the middle of a battle added to Lau's worries and concerns.

_Just one more thing to juggle…_

"Comms… open a hailing channel to those ships. Ask them to identify themselves and state what their intentions are. Warn them they are entering an active combat zone and the other ships will attack them without provocation."

Lau paused, studying the display as these new ships continued to close the range. Their movements bothered her, and she wanted to cover all the potential contingencies, "Inform the Air Group Commander to reposition his fighters. I want at least a squadron of Alphas between us and them in case they turn out to be less than friendly."

Lau continued studying the tactical display, now showing the three forces now in this system. Her thoughts and worries now split between dealing with the oncoming waves of Invid fighters and this new unknown alien force. She hoped that things wouldn't get worse.

#### oOoOo

On board the approaching alien ships, cold analytical minds studied their holographic sensor displays, showing the two forces fighting each other. They heard the human hails, trying to establish peaceful communications and the warnings, but ignored them. They looked at the two forces, battling each other, and had nothing but hatred and contempt for both races.

The leader of this fleet, wearing a long cloak with one bright red eye showing from under his hood, turned away from the sensor display towards his assistant.

 _"_ _The Awareness has guided us to these jump coordinates to find these forces. Our instructions are to test our new weapons against the humans and the Invid. We need to determine their effectiveness before implementing our final plans to wipe out those that embrace Protoculture."_

 _"_ _The humans have none of the Synchro Cannons aboard their ships and only a few fighters employing Shadow devices. We cannot test the modifications we have made to those systems we have given them,"_ replied the assistant.

 _"_ _The Awareness has noted that! Our priority is to test the effects of destabilizing and overloading the Reflex engines on the human ships. Killing the Invid is just an added benefit. How long until we are in range to fire?"_

 _"_ _We will be in optimal weapons range within five minutes."_

#### oOoOo

Cassie saw through her HUD the range closing fast with the group of large alien ships. The sudden arrival of these new aliens surprised her as much as everyone else. Her squadron received orders to shift over and act as a screen between the task force and these new aliens.

As she listened to the task force flagship trying to hail these new aliens, Cassie tried to keep her hopes in check these new aliens would be friendly. With the range closing between her squadron and the alien ships, and still no response, a bad sense replaced her hopes. This premonition told her things would turn ugly.

_It's bad enough we're trying to survive the Invid… now we got more aliens to deal with!_

Cassie fixated on her display as the range between her squadron and the aliens continued to decrease. While this was going on, she listened to the tactical channels as the second wave of Invid was now being engaged. Mixed emotions filled her. She wanted to be back there helping the others, but it was nice that no one was shooting at her at the moment.

That all changed as a shout came over the squadron channel, _"BOGIES! We've got fighters launched from the alien ships!"_

_So much for a friendly close encounter…_

Cassie sighed as her premonition came true, and this first encounter with a new alien race became hostile. If there was any consolation to this situation, it looked like these aliens didn't like the Invid either. They'd split their fighters into two groups, sending a group against each race.

The threat-warning systems going off in Cassie's cockpit brushed any further thoughts aside as her focus now became on staying alive. Energy bolts, fired by these new hostile fighters, filled space seeking human targets.

Cassie pulled back on her control stick, putting her Alpha into a hard bank. Her targeting system lit up, locking on to several of the enemy fighters, and she fired off the last of her missiles.

Space blossomed with explosions where her and her squadron's missiles found their targets. Cassie wasted no time on being satisfied as more enemy fighters rushed in to fill the gaps. With no more missiles, she transformed her fighter into Battloid mode, using her pulse cannon, firing short bursts at the fighters of humanity's newest adversary.

#### oOoOo

Lau tried to shake off her disbelief as she took in the info from the tactical displays. She couldn't believe she was now in the middle of a fight with two different alien forces.

Even with no knowledge of the new aliens' technology and capabilities, her focus was on holding off and defeating the attacking wave of Invid fighters. To her, they were the most immediate and dangerous threat.

"Ma'am, the Invid carriers are in missile range."

Lau nodded in acknowledgement, "Weps… get a targeting solution on those carriers and fire as soon as you have a lock. Comms… tell Vanguard to go weapons free on those Mollusks as soon as they have a target lock. Once they fire, they're to change course with their escorts and move to support Viper squadron, and engage the alien capital ships."

Lau heard the acknowledgements while studying the tactical display, giving her a real-time view of the battle and ship positions. The ship shuddered as its main missile batteries launched a barrage of anti-ship missiles towards the Invid ships.

#### oOoOo

Vanguard's Captain received the Commodore's orders and gave the orders to his weapons officer. The ship shuddered from launching a wave of anti-ship missiles at the Invid carriers. The Captain then gave the order to bring the _Ikazuchi-class_ cruiser about, setting an intercept course towards the advancing unknown alien fleet.

Like everyone else, these new aliens made him curious. When they arrived, he had a fleeting hope they would be friendly, but he'd always been a pragmatic person. Humanity's history of first contact with aliens was not a peaceful one, so it didn't surprise him when they launched fighters towards the task force.

The Captain grimly studied the tactical display as his ship and its escorts closed on this new enemy. Even though with his escorting light cruisers he would outnumber the alien force, their capital ships were at least as large as his cruiser. He also had no idea of their technology and capabilities. On the positive side, Vanguard was fully operational, having only suffered minimal damage from the Invid attacks.

#### oOoOo

 _"_ _The human ships have entered weapons range."_

 _"_ _Excellent… have our ships target the closest human ships and destroy them. Then move on to next group."_

 _"_ _Understood."_

The seven Haydonite capital ships powered up their main weapons, preparing to fire.

#### oOoOo

"Sir! We're picking up an energy spike from the alien ships. They're preparing to fire!"

Vanguard's Captain was about to order evasive maneuvers when his world exploded. The ship rocked from multiple hits, throwing him and the rest of his bridge crew around. Screams, cries and alarms filled the bridge as he recovered, trying to shake off his shock and confusion.

"DAMAGE REPORT!" he yelled over the din of voices and alarms.

"REPORTS COMING IN FROM ALL SECTIONS! HULL BREACHES ON ALL DECKS!" the Damage Control Officer yelled back.

The Captain tried wrapping his head around the scale of damage they had just suffered. It seemed impossible for these new aliens to do this much damage with their first shots. As he struggled with the situation, the realization sank in he could lose his ship. The Damage Control Officer's shouts got his attention.

"SIR! ENGINEERING IS REPORTING THE REFLEX FURNACE IS GOING CRITICAL!"

"TELL THEM TO OVERRIDE AND SHUTDOWN!"

"THEY CAN'T, SIR!"

The reality of the moment hit the Captain hard. He fought the panic and the helplessness threatening to engulf him. His training kicked in, activating the ship's intercom system to save as many of his crew as he could.

"ALL HANDS! ABANDON SHIP… I REPEAT ABANDON SHIP!"

The Captain returned to his command station and sat down. There was nothing else to do as he looked around the bridge at his crew. None of them made a move to the escape pods. They remained at their stations, trying to pull out a miracle to save their ship, and co-ordinate the crew's evacuation.

Pride filled the Captain, watching his crew work. He wanted to tell them how proud he was of them. He opened his mouth to tell them when the ship blew up in an enormous explosion.

#### oOoOo

Lau stood in frozen shook, watching as the alien fleet cut Vanguard and her escorts to pieces. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it. It took what seemed like an eternity to shake off the shock. She noted the same shock taking ahold of her bridge crew and command staff. She knew she had to snap them out of it, "Status of Invid attack?"

"Our fighters are keeping most of the Invid fighters off of us. The Invid are getting distracted by these new aliens too. We're getting damage reports from the other ships."

"Anything from sensors on what those aliens hit Vanguard with?"

"We're still sorting through the data, but it looks like the energy weapons those ships carry fire at a frequency that seems to destabilize our Reflex furnaces. We're not sure how, but we need more time to analyze the sensor data."

Lau opened her mouth to say something when another cry went up.

"Ma'am! The aliens are firing again!"

#### oOoOo

Cassie watched in disbelief as another light cruiser exploded as the aliens continued cutting apart her task force. She'd froze when Vanguard blew up… it was her base ship. The momentary distraction almost cost her, but she shook off her shock in time to avoid an alien fighter trying to take her out.

Compared to the large ships in the task force, the fighters were having an easier time. For now, her squadron was holding their own, and she'd racked up a couple more kills, but the tide was shifting against the humans. Cassie winced, seeing Viper-Five blow up after getting caught in a crossfire. As the aliens continued their deadly onslaught, she sensed the situation unraveling as the first stirrings of panic pulled at her.

She fought to push down the growing panic, concentrating on the alien fighter coming into her view. A vicious look filled her face as she pressed her weapons trigger, sending a long burst of fire into the alien fighter.

#### oOoOo

Lau, watching her command being destroyed around her, barely acknowledged the latest report of another ship destroyed by the new unknown aliens. She'd thought she could keep things in control and handle the situation, but she had no answer or defense to this new alien threat.

"Ma'am! The third wave of Invid carriers are coming into range! They're getting ready to launch!"

_That does it!_

Grim, angry determination filled her. She looked for any glimmer of hope to save her task force, "Is there anything we can do to stop or minimize the effects of those damn alien weapons?"

One of her Engineering officers spoke up, "We could try directing and layering our pin-point barrier system where the enemy will hit us. If we time it right and get the barriers in position, it's possible they'll absorb the energy, but that's a lot of ifs…"

Lau sighed, facing a short list of options. It didn't take long for her to decide.

"Order the task force to fall back, so we're free of any gravitational fields. All ships are to execute independent space folds as soon as they can. We need to get word back to Tirol and command to warn them about these aliens. Order the fighter squadrons to cover the retiring ships."

Her First Officer stepped forward, "What about us?"

Lau didn't hesitate, meeting her First Officer's eyes, "Order all non-essential personnel to abandon ship! They're to evacuate to the other ships of the task force. We'll stay and provide cover for the task force to retire."

The bridge fell silent as everyone absorbed what the Commodore was asking them to sacrifice.

#### oOoOo

Captain Coleiro couldn't believe the three-way Charlie Foxtrot he found himself stuck in the middle of. A sense of helplessness gripped him as the Invid and these new aliens tore his task force to shreds around him.

The remnants of the fighter screen struggled to hold back the Invid, but it was becoming a vain endeavor. The Invid smelled blood in the water, pressing their attacks even while being attacked by the other aliens.

Coleiro's fighter was in Battloid mode, sweeping the surrounding space with his disrupter as he'd exhausted all his missiles. A panic jumble of cries for help, support and distress calls from ships and escape pods filled the radio channels.

A voice came over the channel, cutting through the din of voices, ordering the task force to withdraw and the surviving fighters to cover them. The Captain was deciding what to do when his wingman called him over the squadron channel.

 _"_ _Boss… what's the plan here?"_

"Give me a minute…"

 _"_ _Would like to boss, but everything's going FUBAR."_

"I know…" Coleiro said, opening a channel to the Arcadia.

"This is Reaper-One… let me speak to the Commodore."

#### oOoOo

Lau was a witness to the disaster unfolding around her. Her plans for her surviving ships to retreat and execute a withdrawal were turning to ashes. The Invid continued their attacks, overwhelming the remnants of the fighter screen, and there was still a third wave of carriers advancing. Debris littered space, mixing with crippled and destroyed hulks of warships drifting through space.

The retreat was turning into a rout as the retreating ships were being attacked by Invid fighters and taking fire from the other alien force. She ordered the ship's point-defense weapons to cover the stream of escape pods and shuttles trying to join the retreating REF ships.

"Ma'am… Reaper-One on the channel."

Lau turned to the comm display screen at her station, "Go ahead, Reaper-One."

She saw the worried look on Coleiro's face, but his voice remained calm, _"Commodore, what's the plan?"_

Lau debated for a moment what to say, recalling her academy days and a younger and brasher Paul. They had a lot of history together, but this wasn't the time or place to rehash ancient history and regrets. She wasted no words, "We're evacuating as many people as we can. Arcadia will stay behind to cover the withdrawal while what's left of the task force folds out of here."

Coleiro didn't hesitate, _"The Reapers will stay to provide cover."_

Lau expected no less from Paul, but too many had already died, "Negative, Captain! We still have the drones and they will stay to provide cover. Your orders are to cover the evacuation. Get our people home!" she ordered.

A long pause filled the channel before Coleiro responded, _"Understood…"_

He added, _"I'm sorry about what happened at the academy… Godspeed, April."_

Lau smiled, remembering happier moments, "You too, Paul," she said, before cutting the channel.

Coleiro passed the orders to the rest of the squadron and the other surviving fighters. They quickly reformed to provide a screen to cover the escape pods and shuttles making their exodus from the Arcadia.

#### oOoOo

The battle had dissolved into a confused bloody melee as outnumbered Veritechs stood their ground trying to hold back the waves of Invid fighters. Another _Ikazuchi-class_ cruiser blew up, taking a hit from the alien's powerful weapons. The surviving human ships were trying to put enough distance between them and their attackers to execute space folds.

Escape pods from dead and dying human ships desperately weaved, trying to avoid the debris around the dying task force. The Invid showed no mercy on the helpless pods, going after them. The remnants of the Grim Reapers rose to defend them, flying like their name, cutting into the Invid ranks to cover those trying to escape.

#### oOoOo

Lau tasted nothing but ashes in her mouth, helplessly watching her command being destroyed. Her gambit to cover her escaping ships had failed.

The Arcadia heaved and shuddered as it took more hits as the Invid targeted her. Yet, the Commodore didn't worry about the Invid anymore. The other aliens had picked up on her surviving ships trying to escape.

She fought back the urge to scream, watching in anguish as the alien capital ships moved to intercept the retreating ships. Desperate, scared and angry voices, calling for help, filled the communication channels as the alien ships picked off her ships one by one.

Despite her failure, she knew what she had to do. She hated the thought, but someone had to escape to warn REF Command about this new threat.

"Prepare to execute space-fold!" she ordered, catching her bridge crew by surprise.

"But, Ma'am… the gravitational fields!"

"We have no choice! Execute fold!" she ordered, trying to push down her growing guilt and shame.

Lau stood frozen as the countdown for the space-fold wound down. She pushed away the cries for help and the images of her dying command. The forming space-fold field she saw through the bridge observation windows provided little solace to the sense of failure consuming her. A shout from a crewman interrupted her thoughts.

"Aliens ships are locking on to us!"

_Damn it!_

"Get the pin-point barrier in place!" Lau ordered.

The technicians in the barrier control center worked desperately to get the barrier shields in place. On a day where nothing had gone right, the technicians got the shields layered on the bow just seconds before the alien energy weapon struck.

The force of the hit tossed everyone on the bridge around.

"REPORT!" Lau shouted as alarms screamed throughout the bridge.

"THE BARRIER TOOK MOST OF THE ENERGY!" shouted back the First Officer.

A comm screen came alive with a frantic looking face, _"Bridge, the Reflex furnace is destabilizing!"_

Lau was about to respond when another voice shouted out over the alarms.

"SPACE-FOLD FIELD IS FLUCTUATING! READINGS ARE OFF THE SCALE!"

"ABORT FOLD!" Lau frantically shouted.

"WE CAN'T! CONTROLS AREN'T RESPONDING!"

Commodore Lau helplessly wondered what would destroy her ship first… the Reflex furnace or the out-of-control space-fold field.

#### oOoOo

Captain Coleiro finished firing a long burst from his disruptor into an Invid fighter. He had ordered the remnants of his squadron to stay close with the other ships and try to escape with them.

While the fighters retired, Coleiro turned his fighter back to the Arcadia to give her support. He knew he was disobeying orders, but they needed fighter support as Invid fighters now converged on the lone cruiser. His wingman argued to join him, but the Captain ordered him to take over the fighter screen and protect the survivors.

As he made his approach run, closing on the Arcadia, he saw the drone fighters still fighting and taking a toll on the Invid. The space-fold field was just forming around the cruiser, and he said a brief prayer she would make it. He pushed his throttle hard forward to increase his speed, to make it inside the field before the ship folded.

Optimism was already in short supply as the realization hit he wouldn't make it inside the perimeter of Arcadia's space-fold field before she folded. His mind worked on alternate plans to stay alive when everything went sideways as the ship took a direct hit from the alien energy weapon.

He tried to determine how much damage the ship had suffered from the hit. The hull looked intact, but a sense of dread grew seeing the forming space-fold field change shape and expand outwards in all directions. Lightening shot outwards as the space-fold field turned white as it continued to grow even larger. The Captain was no expert in space-fold mechanics, but realized whatever was happening, it wasn't good.

The scene mesmerized the Captain before he realized the expanding field was heading towards him. Fear now became the major motivator as he turned his fighter away from the onrushing wave of energy.

#### oOoOo

On the bridge, Commodore Lau didn't know what to do. Alarms wailed as she watched her bridge crew struggle to save the ship. The Chief Engineer was reporting the Reflex furnace was sending out energy pulses and overloading the space-fold engines. The sensors also reported increasing spikes in the radiation levels throughout the ship.

"Report," she said in a calm voice.

Her tone caught the First Officer by surprise. It calmed him as he reported, "Ma'am, the field is growing and we can't say how far it will expand! We don't know what will happen when the furnace goes critical or if we'll even fold!"

A crewman spoke up, "Ma'am, I've got a group of Invid carriers advancing on us!"

 _The Invid are the least of our worries now,_ Lau thought, shaking her head.

A cry came over the ship's intercom from the engine room, _"SHE'S GOING CRITICAL!"_

Lau didn't have time to say anything other than look at her First Officer sadly as the whole space-fold field turned white around the ship. The temperature on the bridge flared as intense searing heat burned the Commodore and the rest of the bridge personnel. The agonizing pain became overwhelming, and then mercifully there was nothing…

#### oOoOo

Cassie fought to stay alive while witnessing the unfolding disaster around her. Static filled her squadron's tactical channel, so she had no way of knowing if anyone in her squadron was still alive.

When she checked the other radio channels, she had to shut out the cries for help and the distress signals that flooded them. She continued to fight even after losing contact with her squadron, providing cover for the surviving ships. Her plan now was to join up with the retreating ships and escape with them.

Two alien fighters cut-off her chance of rejoining the retreating survivors, forcing her to go to full thrusters and take evasive maneuvers as they attacked her. The hard maneuvers took her further away from the retreating task force ships, but they paid off as she got on the six of one bastard. A long burst from her gun pod took out the alien fighter.

Her moment of victory was almost her last when the second fighter swooped in from her blind side. Cockpit alarms flashed and wailed as her fighter shuddered from hits. She knew her engines had taken serious damage, but she pushed them hard, pulling back on the control stick and spinning the fighter. Her desperate maneuver worked as she got a clean shot on the enemy fighter, sending a continuous burst of weapons fire into the alien fighter, tearing it apart.

Clear of any immediate threat, she checked her Alpha's damage to determine how bad it was and if she could catch-up with the retreating ships. Horrific screams coming over the radio channels interrupted any worries or concerns.

Her head whipped around, and she froze, staring at the vast wave of white energy rushing towards her. She had no time to react as the wave of whiteness engulfed her fighter… and then there was nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover story. This story will feature original characters and some of the ship names and squadron designations will not be canon as there is not a lot info on REF unit structure beyond canon (e.g. Skull Squadron, 21st Mars Division) and I won't get into the debate about Harmony Gold changing the continuity and disregarding a lot of the material written over the years especially the REF RPG guides. I will try and keep ROBOTECH as close to canon using my OCs, but my main goal is to provide an entertaining story to the reader.
> 
> I just want to say thanks to the creators and writers of both the ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises. They have provided me with hours of enjoyment and entertainment. A special thanks to all those that created many of the ROBOTECH technical reference sites, they were excellent sources of information on the types of mecha and ships.
> 
> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	3. He looks kind of sexy for a pirate…

##  **CHAPTER THREE  
He looks kind of sexy for a pirate…**

_"_ _My history with women wasn't a pretty one. Mostly bad choices, and stupid mistakes on my part, littered the desolate garbage dump I called my love life. The only relationship until then I could even call close to 'successful' was with Anya and look how that turned out! With the situation we faced and a house full of teenage Potential Slayers, I'd resigned myself to being 'Mr. Bachelor' for whatever time we had left. What I'd hadn't expected was for the big guy upstairs to take pity on me and drop another chance in my lap."_

— Xander Harris

#### oOoOo

Xander tried keeping his concentration on the road, but with only one eye now, his night vision and depth perception were off. His dead eye also still ached and throbbed, getting occasional flashes of light when he closed his good eye, adding to his discomfort.

He risked a glance over at Dawn still unconscious in the passenger seat of the car. A wave of guilt washed over him again at having drugged her, but Buffy had asked him to do her this favor. She wanted Dawn safely away from Sunnydale, yet it still didn't ease his growing guilt.

There was also the little matter of how Dawn would react when she came to… Summers women had a tendency towards violence. He hoped the letter from Buffy would explain and minimize any repercussions.

Xander realized his growing guilt wasn't only limited to drugging Dawn. He was also leaving at a crucial time in their battle against The First Evil, Caleb, Turok-Hans and the Bringers.

 _That's one long list of enemies,_ Xander thought, trying to keep his focus on the road. He kept telling himself he wasn't running away. He was doing this because Buffy trusted him to protect Dawn. Yet, a part of him kept saying he was running out on all his friends when they needed him the most. Dawn's stirring back to consciousness interrupted his guilty thoughts.

#### oOoOo

As she regained consciousness, Dawn slowly noticed her surroundings. The drowsiness competed with the funny taste in her mouth as a flash of incoherent images and memories filled her head. The last thing she remembered was helping Xander search for something in his car. Then something went over her nose and mouth, and then nothing.

Her eyelids weighed a ton as she struggled to open them. She took a moment to gather her senses and realize she was in a moving car with Xander driving. For a brief instance, she didn't recognize him because of his eye patch. Then it all came back… how he'd lost it and how she'd felt seeing him injured. His voice caught her attention.

"Hey, Dawn. Dawn, you awake?"

"What happened?" she said groggily, regaining her senses.

"Um, I thought you might say that."

The drug's effects still pulled on Dawn as she tried shaking them off, "Actually, I meant to say what the hell happened?" she said.

"It was chloroform."

"Color forms… what?" Dawn said, still groggy.

"Chloroform. Are you still loopy?"

"Sorry about that. Someone knocked me out with chloroform. Xander, where are we going? What's going on? Talk to me," Dawn said, experiencing confusion and alarm as she regained her senses, and trying to figure out what was happening.

Xander didn't hesitate, handing the letter to Dawn, keeping his eye on the road, "Away."

"What's this?"

"Just open it."

Dawn opened the letter and read it. Her anger grew as she figured out what was going on and who was behind this idea. As she continued reading her sister's letter, she glimpsed a stun gun sticking out from underneath her seat. With Xander focused on driving, her hand moved down, brushing against the stun gun. She would give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Jesus… what the hell is that!" he exclaimed, looking at the sky rather than on the road.

Thoughts of stunning Xander faded as Dawn looked up and saw a fireball streaking across the sky. Her mouth hung open in awe as the large fireball left a trail of flames across the night sky.

Xander pulled over to the side of the road to better view the display. He figured it was a meteorite, but he'd never seen one like this before as it moved fast across the sky, roughly parallel to them as it descended. A brief sense of alarm and worry filled him as it drew closer, but curiosity won out as he exited the car to get a better view. He barely noticed Dawn joining him to watch the light show.

Their curiosity and awe turned to surprise and shock when they spotted a piece break away from the main fireball, seeming to hang in mid-air. Xander had difficulty focusing with just the one eye, but he swore something else broke away from this smaller piece.

He figured the meteorite was breaking apart when a white parachute blossomed in the night sky, proving him wrong.

"Xander… is that a-a…?" Dawn stuttered, staring up at the descending parachute.

"Yeah, that's a parachute!" Xander said, shaking his head in disbelief at the parachute. He realized the parachute was coming down in the forest not too far from them.

"Should we go check it out? Maybe they need help?" Dawn said, keeping her eyes glued on the parachute.

"Yeah… Yeah, I think you're right," Xander muttered as the parachute approached the forest canopy. He wasn't sure, but it looked like a person attached to the parachute.

A surge of excitement and curiosity pushed him to dash into the woods, but his old soldier memories from Halloween held him back. He popped the car's trunk, realizing he needed to be smart before rushing headlong into the woods. Rummaging through the trunk, he grabbed a pair of flashlights, utility knife, and first-aid kit along with some leftover nylon rope.

Dawn eyed him as he held the rope in his hand, "Xander, what're you planning?"

"It's just something I recalled from my soldier memories. We may need the rope to help whoever or whatever is on the end of that parachute get down if they're stuck in a tree," he said.

"Oh," Dawn replied, admiring Xander's knowledge while loathing her own ignorance. She took the flashlight he offered, falling in step beside him as they headed across the road, into the woods, towards the descending parachute.

#### oOoOo

Cassie blinked, trying to focus her eyes as her head throbbed, and disorientation threatened to overwhelm her. She finally realized she was hanging upside down from a tree about five meters off the ground. A sigh of relief escaped her, knowing she was still alive.

Another sigh of relief escaped as everything seemed in one piece as her arms and legs responded. She figured the effects of the rapid re-entry into the planet's atmosphere and ejection was behind her pain and disorientation.

 _Okay, ace… now get yourself right-side up and down from this tree,_ she thought, trying to push away the throbbing pain in her head. A warm wetness on her face caught her attention as her vision blurred even more. The realization sank in she'd injured herself either during re-entry or during her landing in the trees.

Her mind wandered, replaying the events that brought her here. A chill ran down her spine as she recalled the screams filling the radio channel before a wall of white engulfed her fighter. She'd figured she'd died, but then found herself drifting in orbit around a white and blue planet.

There wasn't time to ask questions as the planet's gravity grabbed her fighter. The battle damage to her engines prevented her from staying in orbit, and she could only attempt a controlled re-entry as her fighter caught the edges of the atmosphere. The re-entry started good, but the battle damage must have been worse than she suspected as the Alpha shook itself apart in the upper atmosphere.

 _I must have hit my head on something,_ she thought, becoming more sluggish as her vision got worse. Cassie's training told her she needed to get down from the tree, but her body wanted her to close her eyes and rest. She debated what to do as they both sounded good.

Beams of light cutting through the forest caught her attention, focusing her thoughts. Dread and hesitation grew as the lights caught shadows closing on her position.

_If it's the Invid, they wouldn't be so subtle… They would torch the entire forest to get me…_

Her fear faded as the lights grew closer and she made out the silhouettes of people.

_They look human…_

Cassie realized her injuries were bad and she couldn't get down on her own. She took a chance, waving her hand to attract their attention. When a light shone on her, she heard voices which relieved and surprised her.

"Xander… over this way!"

"Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Cassie wanted to respond, but it was hard to focus now. It took all her effort to wave again.

"Xander, it looks like they're hurt!"

"Yeah, it looks like I can get up this tree. I'll get up there and tie this rope to them. Once I cut them free, I'll lower them down to you. Be ready to grab on and ease them to the ground. Remember, handle with care, we don't know how bad they're hurt."

"Gotcha."

Everything moved slower than normal as Cassie drifted in and out of consciousness. It was like watching a slide show as she heard someone struggle up the tree beside her. A man's voice filled her ears as firm hands grabbed her.

"Are you alright? Don't worry, I've got you. We'll get you down."

She barely felt the rope being tied around her as darkness clouded her eyes. Before being lowered down, she got her first glimpse of her would-be rescuer. He looked to be a human male, but it was the eye patch that caught her attention. She recalled the stories about pirates from her childhood.

 _He looks kind of sexy for a pirate,_ she thought, losing consciousness.

#### oOoOo

Xander's muscles strained as he lowered the pilot down from the tree. At least he assumed she was one from her helmet and uniform. It was obvious she was a woman because it was hard not to notice the tight fitting flight suit, hugging all her curves in all the right places.

He pushed his lecherous thoughts aside for the moment. He couldn't afford any distractions as he struggled with the injured pilot and trying to keep himself from falling out of the tree.

When Dawn signaled she'd gotten a hold of the pilot, Xander heaved a deep sigh of relief, letting out more rope as she laid the pilot on the ground. With the pilot down, Xander now focused on getting himself down. He barely avoided slipping several times, but safely reached the ground.

Another sigh of relief escaped with his feet back on solid ground. He didn't realize how hard it be to keep his balance with only one good eye. Xander joined Dawn, kneeling next to the unconscious pilot, checking her out. The pilot's chest moved up and down, which was a positive sign. He couldn't help himself as his gaze lingered over the pilot's chest.

"Xander!" Dawn said, shaking her head at his lecherous behavior.

"W-What! I-I was only making sure she was breathing!" he stuttered.

"Men!" Dawn muttered with disgust.

She did another check of the unconscious person, "I don't see any obvious injuries," she said.

"Want to give me a hand with this helmet?"

Dawn nodded, and he tried to get the helmet off, fumbling his first tries to remove it. He finally realized the helmet connected to the pilot's flight suit, forming an air-tight seal.

"Easy…" Xander said, detaching the helmet from the suit. He held the pilot's head as Dawn helped him ease the helmet off.

They both grimaced, seeing the blood covering the pilot's face. Dawn had Xander hold a flashlight while she checked and cleaned the wound with gauze from the first-aid kit.

A few minutes passed by as Xander watched Dawn administer first-aid, "So what's the prognosis, Doctor?"

Dawn shook her head, "She's breathing, and it looks like she might have a concussion. I think the bleeding has stopped. She's still unconscious. Should we call for help? We can't leave her here."

Xander had been contemplating the issue as his eyes again settled on the unconscious pilot. He'd studied the pilot and several things were bothering him. The pilot's flight suit wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before, and he'd lost count of how many times he'd watched "Top Gun". Together, the helmet and suit almost looked like a space suit. He also didn't recognize the insignia on the pilot's flight suit… the letters 'REF' on one of her shoulder badges being a complete mystery to him.

The last thing that bothered him was the pilot herself. Not that she was a woman, it was her apparent age. The unconscious woman looked to be only a few years older than Dawn… maybe twenty-one… twenty-two at the most. There was also the pilot's hair… he knew purple hair, even if cut short, wasn't military standard.

Xander wasn't sure what to do next, "What do you suggest?"

"We take her back home. Then we can figure out what to do next," Dawn suggested.

Xander sighed, shaking his head, "No way! That's not an option. I promised Buffy to get you away and keep you safe!"

Dawn looked up, meeting his good eye. He saw the fierce determination in her face and sighed in defeat, knowing she was just as stubborn as her sister.

"Xander, tell me honestly, you didn't want to stay and help the others? Tell me you aren't feeling anything about running away?"

A flash of anger filled Xander at her insinuating question. He wasn't running away… he was only doing what Buffy had asked him to do. Yet, her words struck hard as they reminded him of the lurking guilt eating at him. He took a moment to catch his breath and calm down before he said something he would regret. His mind considered the options they had, studying the unconscious pilot.

_Buffy won't be angry with me. We rescued someone that needed our help, and we couldn't leave them here. Yeah, I'm sure she'll be okay with this… I hope…_

#### oOoOo

To say Buffy was angry when Dawn walked back through the front door was an understatement. The anger gave way to shock and confusion as Xander followed through the door carrying an injured and unconscious woman wearing a strange outfit. Dawn snapped everyone out of their shock and surprise to help, putting their new house guest in Dawn's room.

Buffy grew only more confused as Dawn and Xander retold their story of the fireball in the sky, the parachute and their discovery of the young woman. She wasn't alone as Giles and the others gathered mirrored her confusion.

"So, is she with the military?" Giles said.

Xander shrugged, "She's with somebody's military," he said, placing a small metal case on the dining room table.

He added, opening the case, "But I don't think it's any military we're familiar with."

Everybody stared at the open case and the contents inside.

"What's this?" Buffy said.

"It's a survival kit. When pilots eject, they have supplies attached to their ejection seat and chute. Basic stuff… food, water, rescue beacon and radio…" Xander replied.

Willow stared with wide eyes, "Is that a gun?"

Xander shook his head, "Looks like one, but it's not like anything I've seen before."

"It looks like a blaster from Star Wars," Faith blurted out, catching everyone by surprise. An awkward silence descended over the room as everyone gave her strange looks. The looks made her uncomfortable, and she tried to deflect, "Uh, I saw the movie in prison…" hastily adding, "There wasn't anything else to watch."

"It looks more out of Star Trek than Star Wars," Andrew interjected, adding his geek knowledge to the conversation.

Xander smiled, shaking his head, "Anyway, as Faith and Andrew have pointed out, this weapon isn't like anything I've ever seen before… there are no bullets."

"So, she's an alien?" Anya blurted out, getting stares from everyone.

"What? Well, she has to be an alien… did you not see the purple hair!" she said, answering the looks she got.

"I kinda like the look," Faith said, grinning, getting a few strange looks herself.

Giles stepped in, "Uh, yes… This is all well and good, but all we have here is circumstantial evidence," he said, studying the case's contents. He picked up one of the food packages, giving it a closer study as he pushed up his glasses. He read the small print on the package several times to make sure he hadn't made a mistake or was hallucinating.

 _"_ _Packaged for the Robotech Expeditionary Force in Monument City, Earth. Best before 06/27/2049."_

Buffy picked up on the change in Giles's demeanor, "What's wrong?"

"Uh… nothing. I think we should hold off on any conjecture or guesses until our guest is awake and we can ask her some questions," he replied.

He tried to wrap his mind around the wording he'd read. The production information and expiry date on the package sent his mind racing, considering possibilities and raising only more confusing questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover story. This story will feature original characters and some of the ship names and squadron designations will not be canon as there is not a lot info on REF unit structure beyond canon (e.g. Skull Squadron, 21st Mars Division) and I won't get into the debate about Harmony Gold changing the continuity and disregarding a lot of the material written over the years especially the REF RPG guides. I will try and keep ROBOTECH as close to canon using my OCs, but my main goal is to provide an entertaining story to the reader.
> 
> I just want to say thanks to the creators and writers of both the ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises. They have provided me with hours of enjoyment and entertainment. A special thanks to all those that created many of the ROBOTECH technical reference sites, they were excellent sources of information on the types of mecha and ships.
> 
> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	4. Focus on your jobs

##  **CHAPTER FOUR  
Focus on your jobs**

_"_ _Commander Max Sterling brought the patient to my office. The boy is the son of Alexandre Coleiro, a pilot with Skull squadron killed along with the rest of the family during Khyron's final attack on New Macross. Commander Sterling informed me he found the teenager on the streets of Brasilia. The patient appears to be suffering from mild malnutrition, but considering seems to be surprisingly energetic and fit. While the patient has not been very talkative, I gathered enough to learn he'd been living on the streets for almost three years. During the physical examination, I noted several scars and bruises on the patient of which the most prominent was a sizable old flash burn scar. The patient also has several old and new defensive wounds on his hands. It was a normal examination, except for one minor issue. I pulled the patient's old medical records from the SDF-1. I'm sure it's just a mistake in the records as they list the patient's eyes as being hazel. In fact, the patient's eyes are a dark brown, an almost black color…"_

— Excerpt from medical report by Lt. Commander Marcus Jacobs (Monument City, 2018)

#### oOoOo

Robin Wood was enjoying the peace and quiet of his drive. With the windows rolled down, the wind and sun on his skin was more soothing than using the car's air conditioning. Light music played from the radio, adding to his current serenity as his thoughts wandered.

He relaxed more with his thoughts briefly turning to more pleasant avenues rather than dwell on the specter of death hanging over him and the others. As the music ended, he only half-listened as a news report cut in.

 _"_ _NASA scientists still have no explanation for the recent gravitational disturbances detected near the moon. The only impact on the planet has been minor disturbances with the tidal system, which lasted for a day. Some amateur astronomers have reported seeing a blinding flash of light coming from the area of the detected disturbances near the moon's southern pole. This has raised speculation among the astronomy community whether a comet or a large meteor has struck the moon. NASA is dismissing those claims as there is no evidence of any lunar impact. The Whitehouse has made no official comment other than they are monitoring the situation…"_

Robin didn't give the news any thought as he pulled up at his destination. Even if he'd been paying attention, it didn't concern him. His problems were more earthly, and light shows around the moon paled in comparison. Until the Hellmouth became more active, his days had consisted of focusing on being a high school principal with hunting and slaying demons and vampires only as a nighttime sideline.

Now, he and the others faced dealing with The First Evil, along with its followers and an army of super vampires. Despite these threats, what ironically stretched his limits and patience was every time he entered Buffy's home. It seemed as if a storm cloud of chaos continually hung over the place.

Robin took a deep breath to prepare himself before knocking on the door, and once more stepping into the chaos. He didn't have to wait long for chaos to arrive as the door opened.

"Hello, Principal Wood…" Dawn said, smiling. Despite the smile, her body projected the anxiety teenagers got when facing their school principal.

Robin sighed, "Relax Dawn… I'm not the principal anymore. You can call me Mr. Wood or better yet just call me Robin."

"Yes, Principle… I mean Mr. Wood," Dawn replied, her nervousness still obvious.

They stood in the doorway for a long moment.

"Uh, Dawn…"

"Yes, Mr. Wood…"

Robin motioned to the open door, and Dawn slowly realized she was keeping him from entering. She flashed an embarrassed smirk as she stepped aside, letting him in the house. Robin tried hard not to shake his head as he stepped inside, pausing as he noted the female voices coming from around the house.

Dawn picked up on what he was looking for, "Everyone's in the kitchen. We had some excitement last night."

As they made their way to the kitchen, Dawn rehashed last night's events. Robin didn't know if he'd heard her right as she babbled on about fireballs and parachutes. When he joined everyone in the kitchen, it didn't take long to realize he hadn't misheard her.

They repeated the story—without the teenage exuberance—as Robin shook his head in disbelief, "You sure she isn't US military?"

Xander showed him the pilot's survival kit. Robin studied the contents, picking up items to study closer like Giles had done. He examined the survival food packages.

"This is a joke… right?" he said blinking, not believing the small print on the food packages he read.

Giles interjected, "I think we should reserve any judgements or speculation until we've talked to the pilot."

"How's the alien doing?" Anya added.

Giles sighed, but Buffy jumped in, "I checked on our guest. She's still out, but she's breathing fine and looks good. Hopefully, she'll be waking up soon and we can get answers."

Robin felt as if they had dropped him into the Twilight Zone as he tried to grasp everything going on. As the group conversed back and forth, he glanced at Faith, catching her looking his way.

A small sigh escaped as the other Slayer momentarily distracted him. She was an enigma, but he thought he was getting a handle on her. He knew there was a history between the two Slayers, picking up on their strained interactions.

He had to admit things would probably be less complicated if he hadn't slept with Faith. It wasn't entirely his fault as she'd literally tackled him to the bed, pulling his clothes off, but then he hadn't resisted. She'd left by the time he woke up, and since then acted distant and aloof around him. He wanted to set the record straight, but they hadn't any time alone to talk.

With his original plan of just doing a quick check-in and leaving tossed aside, he was now eager for this mystery pilot to wake up. Glancing again at Faith, Robin also thought maybe they would also get that chance to talk.

#### oOoOo

Cassie was having strange dreams… space battles raged around her as she fell from the sky. Then she was hanging upside down from a tree while pirates danced around her. The images faded as consciousness returned and she opened her eyes.

Her head throbbed as she tried focusing and figuring out where she was. Surprise took over as she realized she was in an actual to goodness real bed. She struggled with the pain in her head as she looked around the room as her hands gingerly touched the bandage wrapped around her head.

The blurred vision and throbbing pain in her head told her to stay down, but her training asserted itself, telling her to get up. Her training won out as she struggled off the bed to better check out her situation, determine where she was and what threats she faced.

A wave of dizziness and nausea hit her as she stood up. There was a brief consideration of lying back down, but she pushed through it. It took several minutes before everything settled down enough for her to walk without feeling like she would fall over.

Cassie's first impressions of the room were that it belonged to a teenage girl. The colors and décor reminded her of her room growing up on Tirol. Though, she might have gone with a different color scheme along with adding posters of Veritechs and Destroids.

A quick look around the room yielded no weapons, but on the plus side, they hadn't restrained her, which may have been carelessness on her captors' part. She checked inside her flight boot, sighing in relief at seeing her survival knife still there. That trick was something she'd picked up in survival training from one of her instructors.

 _Thank you, Dana Sterling, for being so tough on us,_ Cassie thought, having flashbacks of that hellish time she'd gone through.

Cassie swayed as she moved towards the door, pausing several times to wait for the world to stop spinning.

 _Not much in the way of security,_ she thought, studying the simple wooden door with the lock on the inside.

Movement on the other side of the door caused her to freeze. She risked a look, quietly opening the door. Two young women—looking to be in their mid-teens—were talking as they walked down the hall towards some stairs. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but there was nothing harried or threatening about their movements or body language. They also didn't seem concerned or worried about security or her presence.

Cassie's next move was to head down the hallway, but footsteps coming up the stairs forced her to retreat into the room. She needed to do something, but was working with no information in an unknown situation. Lying back down on the bed, she palmed her survival knife and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to relax as she waited.

The bedroom door opened and Cassie heard footsteps coming closer. She tried staying relaxed as her heart raced. A moment of hesitation over her ad hoc plan gripped her, but she didn't want to give up the initiative or surprise. She struggled to keep her body relaxed as she sensed a presence close. A light touch of hands on her bandage told her how close the person was.

 _Fortune favors the bold,_ she thought, getting ready to make her move.

#### oOoOo

It was Anya's turn to check on their mystery patient. Though this close encounter piqued her curiosity, a twinge of jealousy hung over her. This irritating emotion only grew when she noticed Xander eyeing the unconscious female alien. It bothered her because it made no sense… she had no intentions of getting back together with Xander.

She figured this jealousy was only a side-effect of the sexual relations they'd been engaging in. It was an acceptable arrangement she enjoyed and took pleasure from as a break from thinking about their impending gruesome deaths. She kept telling herself she had no plans for returning to the way things were before their disastrous wedding day.

Anya tried pushing Xander from her thoughts as she studied the unconscious alien female on the bed. The female seemed to be resting peacefully, which was more than she could say for herself with all the threats stalking them.

Her thoughts drifted to that bastard Caleb, and a part of her burned to be a vengeance demon right now. Thoughts of what Caleb had done to Xander stoked a burning hatred in her. She kept telling herself this hate didn't mean any change in her feelings, but several excruciating tortures she wanted to inflict on Caleb came to mind. Anya sidelined thoughts of vengeance, turning her attention back to the unconscious female. Checking the bandage, everything looked good…

Anya's eyes were wide open as she looked into the open eyes of the formerly unconscious female. What was even most disconcerting was the knife held against her throat.

"How many?" the woman demanded.

The knife along with the hard expression on the woman's face made it hard for Anya to respond.

"How many?" the woman hissed, sounding impatient.

The blade pressing against her throat forced Anya to find her voice, "H-How many what?" she stuttered.

"How many people in this building?"

Anya closed her eyes, trying to stay calm and not to make any sudden moments. She wasn't sure how much she should say. The knife pressing at her throat persuaded her, "Uh… I've lost count… twenty, maybe thirty in the house," she replied.

"Damn…" the woman muttered.

There was a long pause, and Anya realized the other woman was considering what to do next.

"Okay, we're going to get up, and move nice and slowly to the door. We're going to go into the hall and you're going to take me out of here… Understood?"

Anya nodded slowly, not wanting to argue with the knife and trying to keep her fear in check, "W-Where are we going?"

It suddenly dawned on Cassie that she hadn't given a lot of thought towards her escape plan beyond this point. Doubts about her plan immediately surfaced, which combined with the growing, throbbing pain in her head made it hard to concentrate. She briefly debated about tying up the woman and escaping out the window.

Another wave of dizziness quashed that idea, making it harder to keep her balance. It was getting harder to stand on her own as she leaned on her hostage to keep her balance. There was no way she could manage the necessary balancing act, and the last thing she needed was to fall off a building.

_No, the only way out is through the front door. I can use her and once I'm out, I'll have time to think and plan my next move…_

"Do you have a transport?" Cassie demanded.

"Transport?" Anya replied, sounding confused.

"Vehicle! Do you have a vehicle?" Cassis hissed, holding the knife tighter to the woman's throat.

Anya tried to keep her panic in check. She needed to stay calm and somehow alert the others.

"Yes… We have a couple of cars, but the keys are downstairs."

"Damn," Cassie muttered again.

"Okay, like I said, we're going to take a nice walk. We stay quiet and take our time not to draw any attention to ourselves. We'll head downstairs and get the keys and head out. Once I put some distance between this place, I'll let you go. So co-operate and no one gets hurt… Understood?" Cassie said.

Anya nodded slowly as the woman stood up, dragging her up with her. They walked towards the door, the knife tip now pressing into her side with the woman wrapping her arm tightly in Anya's arm.

"Nice and slow…" the woman whispered as they opened the door and checked the hallway.

The hallway was clear and Cassie didn't hear voices from downstairs. She took a deep breath and pushed her hostage through the door first, keeping the tip of the survival knife against her. Each step seemingly took forever as her dizziness got worse, forcing her to rely even more on her hostage to keep her balance.

Anya picked up on the other woman's distress. Despite the opportunity it presented, the sharp tip of the knife blade in her side kept her from attempting to break loose. She tried another approach, "You're hurt… you need to rest. We found you and brought you here. You're safe here… you can trust us."

A part of Cassie considered what her hostage was saying, but everything went sideways as noise behind them caught her attention. Cassie spun Anya towards the noise as the bathroom door opened and a young woman stepped out into the hall.

Time froze as they all stared at each other. The young woman broke the standoff, screaming when seeing the knife being held to Anya. Cassie realized her great escape plan was blowing up and now had no choice as she spun her hostage and pushed her roughly towards the stairs. As they hurried towards the stairs, the dizziness increased and grayness clouded the edges of her vision. She struggled to focus, concentrating only on just getting out of the building.

Even that plan fell apart as Cassie and her hostage reached the edge of the stairs. They faced a large group of people gathered at the bottom of the stairs, looking up in shock at the unfolding scene.

#### oOoOo

The screams from upstairs brought Buffy and others racing towards the stairs. It was still daylight, so she was trying to figure out what kind of threat they were facing as she entered the living room. Whatever threat she thought she would face, she hadn't expected to find Anya being held hostage by their mystery guest. At first she thought it was a joke, but the knife now being held to Anya's throat expressed the seriousness of the situation.

Buffy resisted her Slayer urgings to rush in and disarm the hostage taker. She needed to find out what was happening, so no one got hurt… or worse. She glanced towards Faith, making eye contact and getting a slow nod from her fellow Slayer before turning her attention back on Anya and their knife-wielding guest. A small sigh of relief escaped knowing Faith wouldn't do anything rash. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Faith moving to circle around to get behind them as they came down the stairs.

Buffy tried to control and calm the situation, "Okay, I don't know what the problem is, but I'm sure we can talk things out. Why don't you put down the knife and we can talk," she said in a calm voice, holding up her hands, trying to appear nonthreatening.

"EVERYONE STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" their mystery guest shouted.

Buffy tried not to show any emotions at the injured woman picking up on Faith's movements and intent. She focused on defusing the situation and keep it from getting any worse. What she hadn't expected was Xander stepping forward, moving towards the stairs and speaking in a soft, calm voice.

"Hey… it's okay. Nobody here will hurt you. We saw your parachute and got you down from a tree. You got hurt, and we brought you here. You're safe here… if you put the knife down, we can talk."

Cassie struggled to cope with the unfolding situation as her dizziness and vision got worse. The man stepping forward drew her attention as she saw his eye patch. Images from her dreams flashed back, recalling a voice telling her she would be all right. Another wave of dizziness hit her, and her vision grayed out as everything became out of focus. It was strange, but a part of her wanted to believe what the man was telling her, but her training exerted itself, telling her to escape.

"I-I just want to leave," Cassie muttered, struggling to focus.

"You're hurt… you need to rest. When you're better, you can leave. Hell, I'll take you any place you want to go," Xander said, flashing a small smile as he moved up the stairs slowly towards the two women.

Cassie's head was throbbing harder now, and the room was spinning faster, "I-I need to…" she stuttered out, finding it harder to keep her balance.

Xander noted their mystery guest's slurring speech, and shaky legs, "Where do you need to go? Is there anyone we can call for you?"

"I-I have to contact my ship… I h-have to get back," Cassie slurred as her body gave out. She couldn't control her body as the knife fell from her hand and she fell forward.

She hadn't expected the one-eyed man to catch her in mid-fall. His face was the only thing in focus now. The smile on his face and look in his eye only showed concern and kindness. His soothing voice filled her with a sense of comfort and security as she gave into the darkness.

"It's okay… I've got you. You're going to be okay…"

#### oOoOo

_He was running…_

_The background noises of screams, shouting, weapons firing, explosions and sirens followed him, threatening to catch him and engulf him in in their deadly embrace. Smoke from the fires filled his nostrils as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him._

_He ran because his mom had told him too. He tried to keep up with his mom and baby sister after losing his grip on her hand. They were trying to get to the shelters, but the fighting had forced them away from them. He glanced up, seeing Zentraedi fighters and power armor roar across the sky, firing missiles and plasma beams._

_The Zentraedi weren't having it all their own way as Veritechs responded to the attack, firing missiles, lasers and autocannons back at the attackers. The Veritechs counter-attacking had the recognizable skull and crossbones insignia on their tails… his dad flew with that squadron._

_He paused as a pair of Veritechs took on a wave of enemy fighters. The fighters switched to Guardian and then Battloid mode to deal with the enemy. They destroyed scores of Zentraedi attackers, but the numbers were too great and one of the Veritechs blew up in a huge explosion._

_He watched the lone Veritech as it desperately fought on, destroying several more Zentraedi ships before it got caught in a hail of plasma crossfire and exploded. He stood in the middle of the street, watching the burning debris rain from the sky. In his heart he knew he was watching the remains of his father's fighter fall as tears ran down his face. His mother's shouts of his name snapped him out of his trance and he looked towards her and his sister. She hadn't seen the fighting in the sky as her focus was on getting her children to safety. She yelled his name again, trying to get him to catch up to them._

_He tried to get his feet to move, but they refused to respond as his mother screamed his name again. Finally, his body responded, and he moved towards her. A smile formed on her face as he closed the distance, but it vanished in an instant as a huge explosion engulfed and consumed her and his sister. There was a moment of stark clarity where he saw his mom's smile turn to a look a horror as the fireball swept over her. His mom's and sister's blood-curdling screams filled his ears just before the blast wave hit him, hurtling him backwards…_

The communication console beeping forced Captain Paul Coleiro to open his eyes. He reached across and after several groggy attempts he pressed the talk button.

"Coleiro here," he said, slowly sitting up and trying not to yawn.

 _"_ _Captain, sorry to disturb you, but you asked me to call in two hours with an engineering status update."_

"Go ahead, Lieutenant," Coleiro said, stretching as a yawn this time escaped.

 _"_ _The Reflex furnace is operational, though engineering is still reporting minor fluctuations being detected. We are now at sixty-five percent main power levels and no longer running off emergency power. We should have full furnace power restored within the next twenty-four hours."_

"Engine status?"

 _"_ _Engine number two suffered heavy damage from the fighting. Thrusters are still off-line and we have limited emergency engine power. We can move, but it's limited. Until we've completely restored power levels and stabilized the Reflex furnace, we have no major maneuvering or jump capability."_

"Status of hull breaches?"

 _"_ _Damage control parties have sealed the most serious breaches. For those breaches in non-critical areas, we have sealed off those areas for now until we can go back to fix them."_

"Weapons, Sensors and Communications status?"

 _"_ _Our point-defense capability is still limited. There's enough power we can fire three or four of the main turrets once or twice if we're lucky. All missile launchers are available, but our targeting scanners are still off-line, so we can only aim and fire manually. Sensors are back on-line, but we only have limited capabilities at current power levels. Long-range communication systems are still off-line. Whatever hit the ship fried a lot of the communication systems."_

"Any further info on the planet?"

 _"_ _Sir,"_ the Lieutenant's voice sounded hesitant, _"From the few systems working, we've been picking up audio and video broadcasts from the planet. We've checked star and constellation positions and done a visual scan of the planet comparing it to our databases… we've confirmed that planet is Earth!"_

Coleiro ran his hand over his tired face, trying to process this news. He was one of the few survivors born on Earth and yet still couldn't believe they were back. When they had first realized they were back in the Sol system, tense minutes ticked by as they anxiously waited for the Invid to attack. Then came audio signals from the planet, showing only human activity and habitation on the planet. Most disturbing were the dates being mentioned in the broadcasts they intercepted.

_May 2003! I haven't even been born yet! There's no SDF-1… no Macross City! There's been no "Rain of Death"! We have a planet populated by humans with no remains of Dolza's fleet… no Satellite Factory and no Invid occupation!_

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll be back on the bridge within fifteen minutes. Make sure all damage control teams are being rotated and taking their rest schedules. We don't want to wear everyone out with us being short-handed."

 _"_ _Yes, sir! Understood, sir!"_

Coleiro cut the connection, his muscles twinging as he stood and stretched while deciding if he had time for a quick shower. He opted for a clean uniform, pushing off the shower until later, changing and heading to the bridge.

A whirlwind of flustered and conflicting thoughts and emotions filled his head as he made his way to the bridge deck. They still had no explanations from the limited data available to tell them what had happened. As they pieced together events, there were a few facts they knew…

Whatever weapon the aliens used to hit the ship with while it was folding caused what the surviving engineering staff were referring to as a 'major transition event'. The Captain, being only a simple fighter jock, had asked what they meant by transition event and got responses containing lots of math, conjecture along with shrugs.

The only thing they could tell him for certain was that something happened to the space-fold engines. One theory was comparing their situation to what happened to the SDF-1's jump engines during the first Zentraedi attack on Earth, but on a bigger scale.

During the attack the SDF-1 executed a space-fold close to the planet's surface and the ship's fold engines disappeared. No one ever figured out what happened or where they went. The theory was this time instead of the just the engines… the whole ship vanished this time.

Whatever the reason or purpose, the memory of the horrible screams coming over the radio channels from Arcadia before everything turned white still haunted Coleiro. When he regained consciousness, he found his fighter drifting in space along with escape pods and shuttles from the cruiser. It wasn't until survivors from Arcadia's engineering sections established communications were they able to recover and board the ship.

The space-fold transition caused radiation levels to surge to extreme levels, flooding the ship. Only those crew in the heavily shielded engineering sections survived the event while everyone else aboard … including Commodore Lau … had vaporized.

Radiation levels were now back at normal levels, but knowing how the Commodore and the others had died chilled his soul. An _Ikazuchi-class_ cruiser carried a normal crew complement of 1117 people… a quick roll count revealed only 378 survivors.

It wasn't only the scale of the disaster and the daunting tasking of trying to restore the ship with a diminished crew that weighed on Coleiro. He was the surviving senior officer which now put him in command and made him responsible for both the ship and crew. He wasted no time, taking charge, organizing the search and recovery of any remaining escape pods and shuttles. The next priority was saving the Arcadia…

Main power was out with the cruiser running on emergency power and drifting in space. They needed to restore power, engines and helm control. The cruiser's transition back into normal space got the ship caught in the moon's gravitational field and the ship was being drawn towards it.

It was close, but they restored enough power to stabilize their orbit. After some adjustments, they established a stationary orbit ten kilometers above the surface of the moon's southern pole. The work continued on restoring and making other repairs to damaged systems.

The urgency and focus had been on staying alive that no one had time to think about what was going on. It was only now that as more data and information streamed in that shock was setting in. Coleiro now had to add to seeing to the crew's mental wellness to his expanding list of responsibilities. He tried to keep the crew's focus on getting Arcadia repaired and functional.

 _There will be a lot of time to worry about the impact and repercussions later on… after a few drinks,_ he thought.

The Captain arrived on the bridge deck within his fifteen minute window. The bridge crew came to attention with their Captain's arrival. He gave a quick salute then waved them to relax and return to their stations. The bridge should have been teeming with officers and ratings, but only five crew members and junior officers worked on the now near-empty bridge deck. He drew upon the survivors, from the escape pods and shuttles, with any bridge experience to form his bridge crew… and his command staff.

His stomach tightened as his eyes locked on the Captain's command chair. Coleiro had known Commodore Lau for years. They had gone to the academy together and despite a few youthful personal encounters and indiscretions he had nothing but respect for her. It didn't seem right for him to be taking her chair, especially knowing she'd died at her station.

Coleiro took his place while trying not to show any discomfort or hesitation. The crew needed to know he was in control and they could rely on him in these uncertain times. His attention turned to the huge bridge windows where the lunar surface loomed large and a blue and white world hung in the distance.

"Has there been any sign they've detected us?" he said, motioning his head toward Earth.

Third Lieutenant Aaron Hanson jumped to answer the Captain's question. Hanson was now acting in the First Officer's role having recently been a junior communications officer. His nervousness was obvious as he tried to deal with his new role and responsibilities, "No, sir. Not yet, at least from what we've been able to glean from radio intercepts," he replied.

A grimace filled the Captain's face. There were still too many unknowns about this situation and it didn't reassure him. It was only a matter of time before someone detected them and then only God knew what would happen.

"Okay, our priority is getting propulsion systems back on-line once we've stabilized the Reflex furnace," he said, getting acknowledgments from the bridge crew.

"Have we detected any more shuttles, escape pods or any other ships that may have come through with us?"

Lieutenant Hanson replied again, "It looks like a lot of debris got caught up in our space-fold field and transitioned here with us. We haven't seen or detected any other manned craft, but we still only have limited scanning capability."

The Captain picked up on the Hanson's use of words, raising a quizzical eyebrow, "Lieutenant… Please explain what you mean by 'manned craft'?"

He noted the Lieutenant squirm and tried not to smile at his obvious discomfort, "Uh… Sorry, sir. What I meant to say was that we've picked up hard signals from at least twenty-two of those new Shadow Drone fighters. They're drifting and show no signs of power."

"And pray tell Lieutenant, what are you doing to retrieve those drones? As you may have noticed we are somewhat lacking in Veritech pilots right now. We might need a fighter screen at some point in the future," the Captain said, smirking at the Lieutenant.

The Lieutenant's discomfort was obvious as he realized he'd messed up, "Uhhh… Sir… We're trying to re-establish remote control with the drones. They're not responding to our remote commands."

"And?"

Hanson worked through the problem, "That means their AI systems are off-line or damaged."

"And?" Coleiro said still giving Hanson a look as the young Lieutenant worked through the problem.

The realization finally hit Hanson, "We'll have to go out and recover the drones, and bring them back aboard."

The Captain gave Hanson a knowing smile, "Yes, Lieutenant. I know everyone is busy and tired, but we need those drones retrieved and repaired."

Coleiro let out a small sigh of relief at this news as locating the drones was a blessing. The drones would be an important asset to the defense of the ship. Other than the drones, he was the only fighter pilot that had transitioned with the ship. Without a proper fighter screen it would be harder to defend the ship.

"Reassign the shuttle crews to oversee the recovery, but I want to see their plan before they go out. Everyone is tired and we don't need to lose anyone to a stupid mistake while tired. Understood?"

Lieutenant Hanson, along with the rest of the bridge crew, came to attention, "Yes, sir!"

A small tired smile flashed on the Captain's face, "Lieutenant Hanson…" he paused glancing around at the rest of his bridge crew. He wanted them to all absorb his message, "Everyone… Relax… Just focus on your jobs and what you need to do. We're alive and the plan is to continue to stay alive. We'll work on trying to find out what the hell happened to us, and then we figure out how we get back!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thanks to the creators and writers of both the ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises. They have provided me with hours of enjoyment and entertainment. A special thanks to all those that created many of the ROBOTECH technical reference sites, they were excellent sources of information on the types of mecha and ships.
> 
> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	5. Introductions

##  **CHAPTER FIVE  
Introductions**

_"The Ikazuchi-class series of large cruisers are the mainstay of the REF fleet. At 702 meters in overall length, the ship design incorporates the latest advances in human warship engineering. The resulting powerful vessels are well-armed and nimble for their size, boasting a formidable complement of Veritech fighters (484 total fighter complement). Eight (8) Vickers MP-18 particle gun turrets, mounted along the upper hull, are to counter other ships and to provide orbital fire support. Also mounted are eight (8) Mk.253 MLS vertical launch missile systems carrying a mix of standard HE, nuclear reaction anti-warship and nuclear reaction re-entry missile loadouts. For close in defense, the ships carry eight (8) PL-2a Point Defense turrets mounted in the sides of the hull behind movable panels. The ships are rectangular, with a gravity-well attitude that might remind one of a brick flying on its side. The hull narrows in the center, making for an hourglass-silhouette when viewed from the bow or the stern. There are four main thrusters located astern, one on each of the corner-points with two auxiliary engines, in sponsons, running along the port and starboard hull. There is also a command citadel on the upper port side of the vessel, with an observation deck on top."_

— excerpt from the REF Field Guide (Tirol, 2036)

#### oOoOo

There was now only a dull minor headache, compared to the earlier throbbing, as Cassie opened her eyes.

As she cleared her head and became more alert, the room came into focus and she noticed two major differences. She was in a different room this time. Rather than the teenage girl room theme, this room had a more formal adult tone and mood. The other major difference was the voice greeting her as she regained consciousness.

The husky female voice had a sarcastic tilt to it, "So, Sleeping Beauty awakes… this time I hope she isn't packing another knife."

Cassie ignored the barb, letting out a small groan as she lifted her head towards the voice. A brunette sitting in a chair in the corner of the room greeted her. She noted the woman's strange clothing, and that she appeared to be in her early twenties, which made her older than Cassie.

Cassie sat up slowly, testing her body, "Where am I?"

The brunette smirked, "If there is a bright spot in this world… well, you're at the furthest point from that spot. Though we like to call this little piece of paradise Sunnydale."

As Cassie rubbed her eyes, her mind replayed a confusing mix of images and memories. As she tried to get a handle on her situation, she focused on the brunette, studying her closer. Her body language along with the tight low-cut tank top shirt and tight pants projected a sexual presence. Yet, despite her obvious sexuality, Cassie also picked up a vibe from the brunette. The woman reminded her of the more experienced veteran REF Veritech and Destroid pilots. She saw the eyes of a predator in that face, and that put her on guard.

Her deft read seemed accurate, reading how her guard appeared relaxed, but was ready to respond to any threat. She tried to figure out what the other woman meant by this place being Sunnydale.

_Is it the name of a place or the name of this planet?_

As her mind cleared, her survival training came to the forefront, asserting itself. Whatever happened, her training told her to limit what to say. She didn't need to blab details of her task force, their mission or whatever else she knew about REF operations.

#### oOoOo

Faith studied the purple-haired young woman. If she'd had to guess the woman looked to be around twenty… twenty-one at the most. She had to give props to their mystery guest on the way she'd surprised everyone by flashing a blade and trying to escape. That level of confidence and experience keep her wary just in case purple hair wanted to attempt another breakout. Despite the image she projected, Faith detected an underlying sense of fear and nervousness.

 _She hides it well,_ Faith thought, still studying their now conscious guest.

The group had discussed and debated what to do after their guest pulled a knife and tried to use Anya as a human shield to escape. Anya and a few of the others were all for tying up their unconscious guest and treating her like a prisoner.

Xander convinced them otherwise, arguing the woman was only trying to leave and had hurt no one. Faith figured that purple hair girl's looks played a role in Xander's passionate defense of her. What swung the decision was Giles surprisingly backing Xander. He emphasized how important it was to talk to this woman when she regained consciousness, and it would be far easier to do it from one of friendship.

The group grudgingly agreed with Xander and Giles, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take precautions now. They rotated shifts, so someone was in the room at all times, keeping an eye on their guest. It was Faith's luck to be watching when their guest regained consciousness. She moved to the open bedroom door and shouted down the hall to alert the others to their guest being awake.

Cassie winced, but other than the dull headache she was better with her vision clear and the room not spinning. Yet, her head was the least of her problems as her apprehension grew, waiting for what would happen next. Her mind raced, wondering who was coming for her.

The last thing she expected was three more women to come into the room… a blonde, a redhead and a much younger brunette. A moment of awkwardness filled the room as everyone studied each other, not knowing what to say or do. Cassie glimpsed a man hanging back in the hallway. His eye-patch stirred memories as images flashed in her head.

Cassie sat up straight as the redhead and younger brunette came closer. There was a moment of panic, but she realized they wanted to check her injury. While they checked her out, she noted the blonde and her brunette guard hanging back, talking in low voices so she couldn't hear them.

The blonde looked at her, "So, is she going to live?"

"She looks good, Buffy. The wound on her head is healing," the redhead replied.

The redhead turned to Cassie, giving her a small smile, "You might have some headaches along with a nasty bump, but you'll live. How're you feeling?"

The unexpected friendliness took Cassie aback, and out of reflex she returned the redhead's smile, "Better… do you have some water?"

The younger brunette produced a bottle of water, again catching Cassie by surprise, "Thought you might be thirsty," replied the younger woman, adding her own friendly smile.

"Thanks," Cassie said, taking the bottle. Despite the obvious friendliness, she didn't let down her guard, sniffing the contents after opening the bottle. What she found most surprising so far was that she could understand everyone and they could understand her.

Her eyes poured over the bottle's label, taking in the words… _"Bottled in Modesto, CA, USA—Best Before Nov. 2005"_.

Her confusion grew because she understood the words, but not their context. It was her thirst overcoming her wariness as she gave in and took a long drink from the bottle, savoring the water.

The blonde interrupted Cassie's thoughts, "Now that you're feeling better, maybe you can answer a few questions."

The blonde's tone put Cassie even more on guard as she studied the blonde. It hadn't been threatening, but it projected the seriousness of the situation. Like her brunette guard, the blonde appeared to be in her early twenties. Her body language mirrored the brunette's, yet the serious expression she wore seemed out of place on her face. Seeing both women together, they again reminded her of those REF veterans who had seen a lot of combat.

Despite the tone and body language, Cassie didn't feel threatened by them. She got a sense that something serious was going on, but it didn't seem related to her. She would play along for now to see what would happen.

#### oOoOo

Buffy led the way as they escorted their mystery guest into the dining room. Giles sat at the dining room table while Potentials, Robin, Anya, Andrew and Spike crowded around waiting to learn more about their mystery guest.

As the women came closer, out of habit, Giles stood up, "Please sit down," he said offering an empty chair at the end of the table for their mystery guest. He studied the purple-haired young woman as she hesitated at first. It was obvious she was studying the room and appraising the people and her situation. She nodded as she took the offered chair.

Giles sat back down. Out of reflex, he took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses to keep his eagerness and curiosity in control, "How are you feeling?"

"Better… thanks," replied the woman.

Giles nodded, "I guess it's time for some proper introductions. My name is Rupert Giles and you are…?"

Cassie let out a sigh. Despite this not being like any traditional interrogation method, her military training asserted itself.

"I'm Third Lieutenant Cassidy Evans… serial number oh-seven-two-one-two-oh-two-three."

Giles shook his head, "I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong impression of us. You're not a prisoner… quite the contrary, though I have a lot of questions about who you are and where you come from."

Cassie cocked an eyebrow in surprise, hearing she wasn't a prisoner. A doubtful voice echoed from the back of her head, warning her this could be a trick.

She studied her interrogator's face as she tested him, "So, I can just get up right now and walk out the door?"

Giles realized he was being tested, "Oh my… of course you can leave, but I would advise against it right now. It's nighttime and there are many dangers I would say you are unprepared to face."

This elicited a few chuckles from the watching crowd, which left Cassie unsure and confused.

"So, in the morning I can leave and go anywhere I want to?"

The eye-patch wearing man stepped forward, catching Cassie by surprise, "I told you earlier I would drive you wherever you wanted to go. Just give me a direction, and away we go," he said, giving her a small smile.

Cassie experienced a flashback, recalling her looking down at a group of people while holding a knife to someone's throat. She remembered a man's voice… telling her everything would be okay. If this was some new interrogation ploy or technique, it was working as her confusion grew.

She tried shaking off her confusion, glancing around the room, seeing everyone trying to squeeze in to watch. Most of the people crowding in were young women and like the blonde and brunette, stress filled their faces, but none of it appeared directed at her. Her training hadn't prepared her for this situation as she tried to get a handle on it. Despite the strangeness of her situation, she sensed their curiosity outweighed their worry… well, expect for one blonde standing off to the side of Giles. She gave Cassie an angry glare whenever their eyes met.

"Okay, I'll answer some of your questions… if I can, but you need to answer my questions. Agreed?" Cassie said, deciding to take a chance.

Giles hadn't expected such forthrightness from someone so young and with purple hair, but then she claimed to be a military officer. He realized how much this young woman reminded him of Buffy.

_She's seen battle before, and she's faced death…_

"Agreed… You can ask your questions first," Giles replied, nodding.

Cassie nodded, "Thanks."

The woman's sheepish expression caught Giles by surprise, "Can you tell me where I am, and how I got here?"

Xander's eagerness to get involved caused him to jump in over Giles, "You're in Sunnydale. We found you hanging in a tree after you parachuted. It looked like your plane was on fire and you jumped or ejected."

He noted the young woman—Cassidy—shaking her head. He quickly added, giving her a reassuring smile, "Is there anyone we can call for you to let them know you're here? You can use our phone to call whoever you need."

The woman's confused expression surprised Xander along with everyone else in the room. Her next question had everyone mirroring her confusion.

"Ummm… can you tell me what planet I'm on?"

#### oOoOo

Stunned silence hung over the room as everyone tried to absorb Cassie's question. Anya broke the silence, "I knew it! I told you she was an alien!"

Everyone stared at Cassie as murmurs and whispering took over. Giles recovered from his surprise while trying to keep this meeting from going off the rails. He hadn't expected her question, and it now made it even more important to find out who she was.

"Please everyone, settle down," he said, holding up a hand. It took a moment, but everyone settled down into an uncomfortable silence.

Giles found himself on foreign ground and a little out of his depth in terms of aliens and close-encounters as he considered on how to proceed. The thought tugging on him ever since reading the food package from the survival kit now surged to the forefront of his thoughts. It seemed an impossible and crazy idea, but then he dealt with magic and the supernatural every day.

"You're on the planet Earth," he said, studying the woman's reactions.

"Bullshit!" she said, sounding confused.

Her response surprised Giles, "Why do you say that?"

"Because this can't be Earth… We were nowhere near Earth! If this is Earth then where are the Invid?" Cassie said, shaking her head.

This caused more confusion and talking to erupt from the crowd. Giles tried to get everyone to settle down as he grappled with her responses while also wondering who or what an _Invid_ was.

"I can most assure you we're on Earth," he replied.

"Then you're human?" Cassie said, appearing confused by what she was being told.

Giles paused, his eyes glancing over at Spike standing over in the corner watching the discussion play out, "Ah, yes… more or less," he muttered.

"This can't be Earth… there's no way it can be," Cassie muttered, trying to wrap her mind around all this information.

Xander's confusion at her response was obvious, "Why don't you believe this is Earth?"

Cassie turned to him, trying to comprehend her situation, "Because I was nowhere near Earth! Before I woke up here… we were in a system fifteen lights years from Earth!"

Her response struck hard and silence filled the room as confusion and disbelief reigned. Andrew broke the silence this time, "Who's this 'we' you're talking about?"

Cassie sighed, wishing she still had the headache to distract her. She still couldn't believe what she was being told, "Do you have any star maps… charts of the constellations… anything?"

Willow replied, "We've got some science or astronomy books around… Dawn, don't you have any of your school textbooks around?"

Dawn nodded, pushing through the crowd to retrieve her text books from her room. It didn't take her long to return, a large textbook in her hands as she flipped through the pages.

She placed the open book in front of Cassie. The picture on the page was a familiar one of the Milky Way galaxy. An arrow pointed to the Orion Arm of the galaxy. On the opposite page, another picture displayed the star system with all the planet names that everyone in the REF was familiar with.

"It can't be… It can't be…" Cassie muttered, wondering if she was conscious and not suffering a delusion or hallucination.

Giles read the shock and confusion on her face, "Maybe, if you tell us a little more, we can find out what happened to you," he said.

"Huh…? Yeah… I'm Third Lieutenant Cassidy Evans… Viper Squadron… 17th Mars Division, REF," Cassie said, looking up from the book, staring at him.

Again, Xander's confusion was obvious, "Um… what's the REF?"

Cassie eyed him, "The REF is the Robotech Expeditionary Force… it was a military force sent from Earth. Its original mission was to negotiate with the Robotech Masters to avoid another war, but we ended up fighting the Invid. But if we're on Earth then you should know all about us?"

She might as well been speaking in gibberish as Cassie read the stares and looks of disbelief from the people in the room. They mirrored her own looks at this moment.

The question bouncing around in Giles's head collided with reality. He needed to ask it, "Leftenant… what's the date?"

It was a strange question to Cassie, but she replied without giving it much thought, "I've been out for a few days, but it was November 23. I figure it must be the 25th or 26th."

"What year?" Giles said, catching everyone in the room by surprise.

Time froze in the room. For Cassie, the question was like a slap in the face as a growing icy chill of dread crept up her spine. It took what seemed like an eternity for her to respond. The answer scared her, but she had to know.

"It's 2042…" she whispered.

Stunned silence gripped the room. Even though he suspected as much, Giles blinked trying to grasp the reality and magnitude of the situation as he tried to maintain his composure.

His quiet voice filled the dead silence, "Leftenant… I'm sorry to inform you that today's date is May 6th, 2003."

Cassie stared at Giles as if he was insane as his words sank in. The silence returned as everyone tried to grasp this information.

Giles noted the troubled expression on the young woman's face as she struggled with what he'd said. Ever since reading the labeling on the food package from the survival kit, he'd considered this a possibility. Yet, considering a theory and dealing with reality were two different things.

"I-I… I need some air," Cassie muttered, getting up and rushing for the front door.

#### oOoOo

Cassie stood on the front porch, breathing in the night air while fighting the urge to throw-up. It wasn't long before Giles along with a few of the others joined her on the porch.

The desire to run away screaming into the night was strong as a part of her refused to believe what was happening to her. She was so wrapped up in a jumbled whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and emotions, she barely noticed the one-eyed man moving to stand next to her.

Even though Xander knew nothing about her, he worried about Cassie, "You okay?"

Cassie didn't know whether to laugh, cry or scream, "No! I'm not okay! One moment, I'm flying in space in one of the most advanced fighters in human history and the next I'm on Earth, thirty-nine years in the past!"

Gazing up at the night sky, she saw the full moon acting like a beacon in the night sky. She'd never seen Earth's moon before… except in pictures or old movies.

Tirol was her home, and that world was only a moon that orbited the giant planet Fantoma. The massive planet filled the night sky of her birth world, yet this moon didn't seem so alien to her.

The blonde cut short any further thoughts or musings, "We need to go back inside… it's not safe to stay outside too long."

"You're right, of course, Buffy. Leftenant Evans, we need to back inside… please," Giles urged.

Cassie was too numb and confused to argue as she let the one-eyed man guide her back inside. Many thoughts and emotions filled her, threatening to overwhelm her, but one particular thought moved to the forefront.

_Am I alone? Is there anyone else?_

#### oOoOo

General Jeremy Rayport, working late in his office, was going over the latest performance evaluations for his command.

As commander of the 14th Air Force, he was at the pinnacle of his career. He oversaw operational command of space launches, satellite command and control, missile warning, space surveillance along with command and control of assigned and attached joint space forces.

He put down the personnel file he'd been reading, rubbing his eyes before stretching his neck to work out the kinks. Just when he was thinking of calling it night there was a knock on his door.

Rayport hadn't been expecting anyone, and his alertness increased. It usually wasn't good news when someone came knocking on your door at late hours.

"Enter."

Rayport's hunch seemed confirmed as the duty officer—Colonel Brent Parson—entered the office, coming to attention in front of his desk.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," the Colonel said.

Rayport noted the Colonel's concerned expression, which increased his own concern. The General waved the other officer at ease, "No problem, Colonel. I take it by your late-night visit, we have a situation?"

The Colonel relaxed somewhat, "Sir, we got a call from NASA. You're familiar with that 'space disturbance' occurring near the moon several days ago."

The General nodded, "Yes, we determined there was no direct threat to the planet and nothing else has happened since then. I thought the eggheads were investigating it?"

"Yes, sir. NASA has been doing just that, but they've been getting data which concerns them," the Colonel replied.

Rayport's worry grew, picking up on the Colonel's tone, "What data?"

"They report seeing objects drifting in the area where the disturbance occurred."

A chill ran down the General's spine, "What sort of objects?"

"NASA isn't getting any hard readings. That's why they're requesting our help on this."

Puzzlement and confusion now added to the General's worry, "They must have an idea?"

The Colonel's face took on an awkward expression, "Well, sir…"

"Spit it out, Colonel!"

"Sir… NASA says if they had to guess at what they are reading… well, it looks like a debris field around the moon's Southern pole."

Rayport looked at the Colonel as if he'd just learned the moon was full of cheese, "You're joking…? NASA is joking with us?"

"I wish they were."

The General saw the Colonel had more to add, "What is it, Colonel?"

"Sir, NASA also reported getting intermittent hard returns on a large object in the same area as this debris field."

Another chill ran through the General's body, "What object?"

"Unknown, sir. The returns were sporadic and inconclusive, other than indicating something large there."

"How big was this object?"

The Colonel's expression did nothing to reassure the General.

"It was big…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thanks to the creators and writers of both the ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises. They have provided me with hours of enjoyment and entertainment. A special thanks to all those that created many of the ROBOTECH technical reference sites, they were excellent sources of information on the types of mecha and ships.
> 
> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	6. It couldn't get worse

##  **CHAPTER SIX  
It couldn't get worse**

_"_ _I didn't ask for or want a command. I never pictured myself sitting in the 'big chair' making all those big decisions. When I was younger, I wanted no responsibilities beyond flying my fighter. Actually, there's a long list of women that would happily testify on my lack of responsibility in my youth. Hell, I probably only ended up commanding a fighter squadron because of Max {Sterling} and Admiral Hunter's constant badgering for me to live up to my potential."_

— Excerpt from the collected journals of Fleet Admiral Paul Coleiro

#### oOoOo

Back in the bedroom, Cassie sat in the middle of the bed, her arms wrapped around her legs, scrunching them tight into her body. She feared to let go because if she did she would lose her slender grip on reality.

Her mind raced, trying to wrap her thoughts around and grasp the situation and circumstances she found herself in. She was at a lost to explain how or why she was here, yet she was. Other than hazily recalling dry academy classes covering the basics of space-fold theory and space-time mechanics, there was nothing else to explain her current predicament.

She even considered the possibility she was dead, but brushed that morbid thought aside. If she was dead, she figured heaven would look a lot better and she hadn't lived long enough or done anything to warrant being sent to hell.

A wave of despair filled her as she sat there staring at the wall, contemplating her situation. A part of her chided her for being such a silly girl and to suck it up. Even though she was only nineteen years old, she was still an officer in the REF with her duty to perform.

Her thoughts flashed back to when it had sunk in she was on Earth in the past. A sense of excitement filled her as the realization kicked in she had foreknowledge of the future. She could warn everybody about the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters and the Invid.

_I can save the Earth from the Rain of Death,_ she'd thought.

That excitement got the best of her as she demanded access to a phone to contact the UEG. The confused stares at her request dampened her burst of excitement at becoming the savior of humanity.

A sense of helplessness quickly replaced her fantasy when she asked questions about the SDF-1 and Macross Island, getting more blank confused stares in return. Helplessness and despair took over when Giles and the redhead—Willow—explained there was no United Earth Government and no alien ship had crash landed back in 1999.

It was too much to find out that everything she thought she'd known about Earth was different or hadn't happened. She numbly went back upstairs to the bedroom and stared at the walls, trying to keep herself together. Several times, Willow and the younger brunette—Dawn—checked in on her, asking her if she wanted anything. Cassie mumbled, wanting to be alone for now.

What made everything worse, as she sat there, were the memories of the battle replaying in her head. Images of Vanguard blowing up played over in her thoughts, pulling her further into despair knowing everyone she knew on her was dead.

She realized she would probably never see her family again. Her parents, baby brother and sister would never know what had happened to her. They would only receive the dreaded _"Missing—Presumed Dead"_ notification. As the realization hit her, the tears burst forth, and she buried her face deep into a pillow, quietly sobbing.

Doubts and fears filled her thoughts, _Damn it! I'm a REF officer, but what the hell good am I? I'm stuck on a planet in a time that knows nothing of Robotechnology. Everything I know is almost useless! What the hell am I going to do?_

Cassie finally closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would at least give her a temporary reprieve from this nightmarish reality. A soft knocking on the bedroom door woke her with a start.

"Come in," she said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, wondering how long she'd been asleep.

The door opened and the one-eyed man hesitantly entered the bedroom. A moment of awkward silence filled the room as they both looked at each other.

"I thought I would see how you were doing,"

Cassie's first instinct was to send him away. It was the concerned look on his face that changed her mind, "Thanks… it's been a lot to take in and deal with."

Xander nodded in sympathy, noting her red swollen puffy eyes, "We didn't get properly introduced. My name is Xander… Xander Harris," he said, giving her a small smile.

"Cassidy Evans… Xander? That's a different name?"

A sheepish look crossed his face, "It's short for Alexander, but I prefer Xander… everyone calls me that."

Cassie smiled, "You're the one that got me down from the tree?"

Xander felt like an awkward self-conscious teenager again, getting distracted by her smile, "Yeah… you looked like you could use a little help," he replied, smirking. Her laugh brought a bigger smile to his face.

"Thanks for getting me down, and for helping me," Cassie said.

"It was the least we could do. Besides, we couldn't leave you dangling in the trees… it's not good for the environment."

Cassie couldn't help herself as she laughed again. For a moment, she forgot about the situation she was facing, but then it all came rushing back. Her smile faded as a sigh escaped.

Xander's smile faded as his concern grew, "Are you sure you going to be okay, Cassidy? If you want—"

"Cassie."

"Huh?"

"Cassie… you can call me Cassie. All my friends call me Cassie. I think you've earned it," she said, flashing him a faint smile.

Xander shrugged, giving her a smirk, "You needed help, and I was there."

Another awkward pause filled the moment as each of them struggled with their thoughts.

Xander broke the impasse, "Cassie, if you want to talk or just want some company… I'm told I'm a good listener. I think it's cool you're a fighter pilot. I would like to hear about you… I mean, I would like to hear about what you've seen and done."

Confusion added to the array of emotions that Cassie was going through. A part of her still wanted to be alone, yet here was Xander. He appeared genuine in his concern. Memories of him catching her in the tree and on the stairs drifted in her thoughts as she looked him over. She decided that she'd been alone long enough and it would probably feel good to talk to someone.

She told him about the battle and the last things remembered before waking up here, noting the expressions of shock, mesmerized and disbelief. Cassie hadn't planned to, but she talked about her family and her worries. The wave of despair overwhelmed her again as tears built up in her eyes. Xander surprised her by taking her hand in his, cradling it as he met her eyes.

"You're alive right now… that's all that matters. That gives you a chance! Who knows, maybe you'll find a way to send a message or get home," he said, giving her a small smile as he held her hand.

Cassie smirked, seeing he had a point about her situation. A cautious sense of optimism crept back in as she took his words of support to heart, "Yeah, you're right! I'm on Earth and there's no Invid to worry about. Besides, how worse can it get?"

The sudden awkward and pained expression on Xander's face caught her by surprise, "Yeah… about things getting worse…"

The tone of his voice caught her off-guard. He almost sounded embarrassed by what he was going to say.

"There's something I need tell you about Sunnydale, and our situation here."

#### oOoOo

The people sitting around the table stood to attention as Captain Coleiro entered the conference room. He waved them at ease as he took his seat at the conference table. Glancing around the room, he noted how empty it felt. Normally, ship's personnel representing their respective ship's departments would crowd the room. But then these weren't normal times with only roughly a quarter of the crew having survived.

As he settled into his chair, Coleiro noted the nervousness and fidgeting among the crew as they adjusted to their new roles. These people were now a part of the ship's command staff… _his_ command staff.

_We didn't ask to be here or for these new jobs, but we deal with the hand we're dealt with,_ he thought. A fleeting image of Commodore Lau passed through his thoughts and he wished she was here to make the hard choices. The Captain brushed the doubts aside, focusing on his duty and responsibilities, as he turned to Lieutenant Hanson.

"Report?"

"Sir, we've moved our position. We're holding a geostationary orbit around the moon. As you ordered, we're minimizing our exposure to the Earth side, but enough to still capture signal broadcasts and observe the planet," Hanson reported.

"Latest status on recovery operations?"

"Shuttle crews are working hard to locate and recover those Shadow Drones. The debris field that got caught up with us is huge. It's drifting further out into space, caught in the moon's orbit or the moon's gravity has pulled debris to its surface."

Coleiro sighed. He understood the problems that the recovery crews faced, "Tell the crews to keep working hard. We need those drones, but I don't want them taking any stupid risks. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

Coleiro turned to his Chief Engineer, "Commander Schmidt… what's the status on our power systems?"

"Sir, we've stabilized the Reflex furnace and its back to full operation. We're still checking the power distribution grid, but we should have full power restored to all repaired sections within two hours."

"Excellent! What about our engines?"

"Main Engine number two suffered heavy damage from the battle. We're looking at shipyard time to get it properly repaired…"

A grim look crossed the Captain's face at this news.

"But, all other engines are back on-line with full use of all our maneuvering and secondary thrusters. We can give you about eighty percent of normal speed," the Commander added.

"Good… what about the space-fold system?"

A sigh escaped Commander Schmidt, "That's trickier… the system has full power going to it, and system checks appear to be giving us green lights…"

Coleiro picked up on his Chief Engineer's troubled tone, "What's the problem?"

"Sir, we're getting minor power fluctuations. Almost like a feedback when we run through the tests."

"Can we execute a space-fold, Commander?"

"We can execute a fold if there's an emergency, but I would like more time to run more diagnostics to find the problem… if there is one."

"How long?"

Schmidt sighed again, "It'll take several days, at least. The more time I get, the more comfortable I would feel about the system."

Coleiro added his own sigh, but he understood the Commander's caution. He didn't want to make a fold with a problematic system either, "Understood, Commander. Get that system working! For now, we'll execute a fold only if we're forced to."

The Captain turned to the officer in charge of damage control and repairs, "Status report?"

"Sir, most of the battle damage repairs we can do with the resources on hand are complete. There's still minor hull damage and breaches we're working on. Estimated completion of those repairs is in the next 72 to 96 hours."

"Weapons, sensors and communications?"

"All weapons are back on-line, except for turret number two, she'll require a shipyard to either repair or replace. The pin-point barrier system is still undergoing repairs… that will be at least a week. Missile systems are fully operational, but we are running low on anti-ship missiles. We still only have limited sensor capability, but they're being restored. Hyperspace communications are still out, but all ship-board communication systems and short-range systems are back on-line."

"Thank you. What's our supply situation?"

"Sir, with our reduced crew complement there's enough food for two years… maybe three without resupply. Water recycling systems are functioning. For the hydroponic sections… the radiation killed off those crops, but we can replant. A new crop should be available in a few weeks," the designated supply officer responded.

"What about our ships and ammo supplies?"

Lieutenant Hanson answered, "Sir, most of our fighters were out deployed against the Invid, but we had spare fighters in reserve. Not including the Shadow drones being recovered and your Shadow fighter, there are thirty-nine Alpha fighters and seventeen Beta fighters in our launch bays. Weapons and ordnance for those planes won't be a problem due to the reduced numbers. We have a full complement of recon, Elint and AWACS craft along with a majority of our shuttles. We also have three Horizont transports with accompanying troop and cargo pods."

"Ground mecha?"

"Besides our standard complement of Cyclones, we have a small complement of ground assault mecha… a mix of Excaliburs, Raiders, Spartans and Gladiators along with support vehicles. The task force wasn't planning any major ground operations."

"So, we have fighters, but no pilots for those ships besides myself," Coleiro said aloud, considering the information and their situation.

"Yes, sir," Hanson replied.

"How many shuttle pilots are there?"

"Thirty-six, sir."

"I want them and anyone else on the crew that has applied for Veritechs. Hell, I want anyone that has even thought about flying a Veritech to familiarize themselves with the controls and spend time in the simulators. I'll put together a training program to sort out the best and we'll go from there. Questions?"

A chorus of "No, sirs," echoed in the conference room.

"Now that business is out of the way… it's time to discuss our current situation," Coleiro said. He noted the differing looks of confusion, concern, fear and worry among his command staff.

He turned to Lieutenant Hanson, "Do we have any more information on the planet?"

"Not much more than what we got in our initial sweeps, but we are getting more information as we restore our sensors. This planet appears to be Earth… the land masses, the constellations and languages seem to match what's in our databases. We checked and reconfirmed the date from different sources. They're all saying the year is 2003!"

"You checked for Macross Island and the SDF-1?"

Hanson nodded, "We've done visual scans of the area. There're no signs of population centers or SDF-1 on any of the islands or in the area we know where the SDF-1 landed."

One of the other officers spoke up, "Could the SDF-1 be at a different location or being hidden?"

Hanson turned to the questioner, "Doubtful… from monitoring radio and video broadcasts there have been no references to SDF-1 or anything related to it. Plus, from those same broadcasts, we've discovered differences between this planet and our Earth's history."

This started the command staff talking amongst themselves. Coleiro studied his crew as they tried to deal with the situation and circumstances forced upon them.

Coleiro brought the meeting back to order, "What are some of those differences?"

"From what we can tell, sir… there is no UEG. There is no central planetary government… just individual nation-states with some formed up into blocs or alliances."

"Any indications or signs of detection?"

"There are public broadcast reports mentioning an event coinciding with our arrival, but they're calling it a natural event… a meteor crashing into the moon, etc. There has been an increase in encrypted communications traffic identified as military-grade. We're dedicating computer time to crack those codes. Our threat-detection warning systems logged the ship being scanned by radar systems. We think between our hull surface absorbing most of the waves and the ship's low signature profile, we didn't give back a hard return. The only problem would be with optical systems… if they were looking in our direction…" Lieutenant Hanson said, a grim expression on his face.

"Yeah… Arcadia isn't something easily missed," Coleiro added.

An officer spoke up, "Sir, what're we going to do?"

Coleiro looked over at Commander Schmidt, "Commander, have you looked at the data from the space-fold?"

Schmidt shook his head, "Sir, there're piles of data we're still sorting through, but there's nothing definite… just theories."

"So, Commander… what are these theories?"

"Even with our current level of knowledge, we're only scratching the surface of understanding space-fold mechanics and theory. We know it's inter-related with Temporal Mechanics, the Theory of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. There was a theory from before the Global Civil War called the 'Many Worlds Theory'. To sum it up, the theory implies that all possible alternate histories and futures are real, and there is a very large… some say infinite number of universes. Everything that could have happened in our universe, but did not, has occurred in another universe or universes."

Coleiro's eyes widened at the implications of the Commander's theories, "So you're saying we're in an alternate universe?"

Schmidt shook his head, "Sir, this is only a theory, but on the surface it would seem to be the most logical assumption at this point. We're only theorizing that when the space-fold engines destabilized they opened a rift, and we moved not only in space but also in time between universes."

"Is there any way to open another rift for us to get home?"

Schmidt shrugged, "We don't know, sir. The power and frequency of the alien weapon hitting us as we were trying to make a fold was a one-in-a-million occurrence! We might never replicate the conditions that brought us here."

The Commander's words hung over the conference room. Silence engulfed the room as everyone tried to deal with the realization they may never get home.

Coleiro broke the silence, "So ladies and gentlemen, the million dollar question is, what are we going to do?"

There were uncomfortable looks exchanged between the officers. Finally, one junior officer spoke up, "Sir, we still have our duty and oath to Earth. We should contact Earth and offer our services."

The Captain considered the officer's suggestion. He'd been having the same thoughts for the last several days, weighing out the pros and cons.

"On the surface I would agree with your suggestion, but the question becomes… who do we contact? We're dealing with a planet with no central government or authority. We know the planet has a large military capacity and some of those countries have a nuclear capability. If we contact the wrong group, it could precipitate a war…"

Another junior officer stood up, temporarily forgetting where they were, "But, sir! What about the threat from the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters and the Invid! We can't leave the Earth defenseless!"

Coleiro understood the feelings in play, letting the junior officer's excitement slide, "There's no SDF-1 here. How do we know that the Invid let alone the Zentraedi or Robotech Masters even exist in this alternate reality?"

The Captain let his words sink in before continuing, "Besides, we only have a finite supply of Protoculture canisters. There is no Protoculture matrix to make more, along with no production capability. We only have what we gots with us," Coleiro said with a grim smile.

"Sir, we still have a lot of knowledge and technology we could offer Earth," another officer offered.

"Yes, we do, but again… who do we offer it to? We'll be strangers… outsiders to the people of this Earth, at worse they'll consider us aliens."

Silence filled the room. After a few moments, another officer stood up.

"Yes, Ensign."

"Sir, we could go home… I mean we could go to where Tirol is. Most of us are Tirol-born and never seen Earth before now. We have enough supplies and equipment to start our own colony!"

"Ensign, I've been giving that idea some thought too," the Captain said, eliciting gasps from several people.

Coleiro held up his hand, "Hear me out… I think our first duty is to protect Earth and humanity, whether it is ours or this one. We should determine if there is any threat. I believe we should, once our fold engines are ready, make a fold back to the Local Group. We won't go to Tirol. If the Robotech Masters exist here, the last thing we want to do is show up on their doorstep. We have data on the size and extent of their empire. We can use that information to fold to a quiet area of space in the Local Group and then scope out if any threat exists."

The Captain noted the looks of agreement among his command staff, "If we find no threat, we can return to Earth or stay and establish a colony. If we find a threat, we can gather as much information as we can, then return to Earth and help mount a defense. Whatever we decide, our Reflex furnace will eventually exhaust itself. Once it's gone and unless we can find another source of power to use with our fold engines, that's it for faster-than-light space travel."

Coleiro studied the group, seeing looks of approval mixed with doubts and uncertainty, "Does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas?"

The room was quiet. He was Captain and the decision would be his to make.

"Everyone, we're not locked into this plan. We're dealing with a unique and fluid situation. Until we get the green light on our fold engines, we're stuck here," Coleiro said, glancing at Commander Schmidt, "We still have repairs to make and recovery efforts underway. We won't make any hasty decisions unless the situation forces us to… is that understood?"

A chorus of "Yes, sir!" answered him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	7. What now?

##  **CHAPTER SEVEN  
What now?**

_"_ _First contact was a difficult proposition for both sides. Science fiction literature and movies from popular culture provided Earth with its ideas. Those books and movies, ranging from the likes of E.T. to War of the Worlds, only provided a broad sense of what could happen along with many misconceptions. There were scientists, psychologists, sociologists and writers who tried to analyze how such a scenario would unfold. Yet, the lack of any real or practical data still limited their work. This lack of data forced them to base and model their theories and ideas on conjecture and using examples from Earth's own history. While our Earth lacked any practical experience, the humans of the REF stood in stark contrast. Their bitter experience gained from meeting the Zentraedi, and then the Invid highly influenced them…"_

— excerpt from _"The Arcadia Effect – Effects and Evolution of Human Society from 2003 to 2013"_

#### oOoOo

The group of senior officers representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces stood to attention as the Secretary of Defense entered the conference room. They waited until the SecDef sat down before retaking their seats.

The SecDef was an experienced politician who held his emotions close, keeping them in control when in public. While he usually gave no hint to his inner thoughts or emotions, the assembled officers thought they detected a whiff of fear and apprehension hanging over him.

The SecDef struggled to keep his calm demeanor in place as myriad thoughts and worries filled him, "What's the latest?"

A senior Air Force General stood up, moving to the projection screen setup at the other end of the conference table. He pressed the projector's remote control and a photograph of the moon appeared on the screen.

"Five days ago at 0242 Zulu Time, a huge gravitational disturbance occurred near the moon's southern polar region. There was an accompanying bright light seen on Earth…"

The SecDef nodded. He'd been one of the many who'd witnessed the bright flash in the night sky. Those more superstitious took the flash to be a bad omen… something heralding the end of the world. The SecDef was a rational man, refusing to cater in such silly nonsense. But, that was then… Now, he wondered if those old superstitions didn't have some basis in reality.

The General continued, "Other than some minor impact on the planet's tides, there was no discernible impact on the planet. At first, the theory was a meteor or comet impacted the moon. We got a fortunate break. One of our observatories in Hawaii had their telescope pointed in that general area at the time of the event. They took photos…"

The General pressed the remote, and a close-up photo of the moon, covering a specific area, now filled the screen. At first glance there appeared to be nothing, and it looked blurry, but the General pressed the remote again and a more enhanced close-up flashed on the screen. This time a dark speck appeared, contrasted against the background of the moon's surface.

Another picture flashed on the screen, this was a blown-up photo of the speck. The object was larger, but still blurry, giving no hint of its details or what it was… only that "something" was out there.

The SecDef studied the screen, "What is it?"

"Unknown! NASA and JPL tried scanning the object with radar and LIDAR to determine its size and composition. At first, they thought it was remnants of a meteor, comet or whatever hit the moon. For an object its size, it seems to absorb most of our radar waves… we only got back a faint return signal."

A chill ran down the SecDef, "How big is it?"

"From photo analysis, we're estimating the size of the object to be over a half-mile."

The SecDef shook his head, trying to come to grips with what they were dealing with. He tried to visualize what the object was as he studied the photo, "What's your threat assessment, gentlemen?"

A four-star Army General spoke up, "We don't know what or _who_ it is. The object has moved… we can't detect it at this moment. The other thing concerning us is a large debris field we've detected near where we spotted this object. While we've lost contact with the object, we are detecting movement in the debris field…"

The SecDef gave the four-star General a hard look, "Might it be the debris drifting and moving you're detecting."

"No, sir. We've been measuring the size and composition of the field and getting measurements of differing sizes. Our best long range cameras have been monitoring the field. They are detecting movement in the field different from the debris," replied the Army General.

"Can they tell what it is?"

"Unfortunately, no, sir. At these distances, the images are too blurry and distorted to provide much detail, other than the objects are bigger than a school bus."

The SecDef's mind worked furiously, trying to gauge the political fallout, "Have there been any attempts to communicate with the object to see if it responds?"

"NASA was going to attempt beaming a radio transmission directly at the object, but we lost sight before they could make the attempt. They've requested to do a wide-beam radio broadcast to help determine if the object is natural or… an Extra-Terrestrial."

The SecDef sat there stunned as the reality sank in they might be dealing with aliens. Not that he was closed-minded or ignorant to the possibility. As Secretary of Defense, he was privy to a lot of information about threats to the country and humanity.

Yet, these threats that gave him many sleepless nights and nightmares were of more earthly origins. This situation was something out of the ordinary, and outside his experience, "What are your recommendations?"

"We want NASA to hold off on their transmissions. Their broadcasts would be on open frequencies that anyone can pick up and will create a lot of unwanted questions. There is the potential of panic among the general population if word of this leaks out. As a precaution, we want to go to DEFCON 3 and implement posture _ROUND HOUSE_ while we gather more information and determine the threat level."

"That's a serious request you're asking, General," the SecDef said, considering the request.

"Yes, sir. It's the most prudent one to take until we can sort out the situation."

The SecDef took a moment to consider the impact of increasing the country's nuclear readiness, "Okay gentlemen. You have authorization to go to DEFCON 3 and put the Air Force on increased alert. But I want this kept quiet! I don't want leaks or have unauthorized personnel being quoted on CNN or MSNBC! I will brief the President within the hour to get his sign-off on this. We need to be ready if things get out of control and this goes public."

The officers stood as the SecDef got up to leave. He paused, looking over the officers, "Gentlemen, I want you to find out what the hell that thing is out there and what's it doing!"

A chorus of "Yes, sir," followed him as he left the room.

#### oOoOo

While discussions of sensitive military issues occurred in Washington, Cassie stood in the shower letting the hot water soak her head and body. The water running down her provided an anchor to reality as she tried to come to grips with the crazed situation in which she found herself.

She was still trying to digest everything Xander had told her about Sunnydale. At first she'd thought he was joking, but the serious expression on his face told her otherwise. Other than believing him, her only alternative was that everyone around her was insane.

_Vampires… Demons… What kind of nightmare world have I fallen into?_ Cassie thought, letting the hot water continue to soak her. It was only when the water turned cold did she finish rinsing.

While drying herself, she checked herself out in the mirror. The gash on her head looked to be healing. She was lucky and thankful her hair hid the worst. After drying herself, her attention turned to her uniform. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as the gamey smell coming off it ended any debate about putting it back on until it got washed.

Not wanting to waste her shower, she headed back to the bedroom with only the towel wrapped around her. She passed several of the girls—one's Giles had called Potentials—in the hall eliciting a few stares at her lack of wardrobe.

Cassie didn't notice them having lived in shared barracks. There wasn't much she hadn't seen… either on purpose or by accident. As she neared the bedroom, Willow, Dawn, and another Potential came out of one of the other rooms.

"Willow… Dawn," Cassie said, trying to catch their attention.

The three women turned towards Cassie. She didn't notice the looks they gave her at her choice of apparel with the towel not leaving much to the imagination.

Dawn recovered first, "Oh, hey? What's up?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you've got clothes I can borrow… at least until I can clean mine."

Dawn nodded, smiling, "Sure, we should be able to scrounge something up. Do you know what size you are?"

Before Cassie replied the other woman spoke up, "She looks to be Faith's size. I would check with her."

Willow noted how Kennedy was eyeing Cassie's towel, "Kennedy, how would you know what size she is?"

Kennedy smirked, enjoying teasing Willow, "You know me Will, I have a thing for women's sizes."

Cassie noted Willow's slight angry expression while the other woman—Kennedy—looked her over and smiled.

Dawn stifled a laugh, picking up on Kennedy's double entendre and seeing Cassie's confused expression, "Don't worry about it," she said, taking the uniform. Her nose crinkled and cringed as she got a whiff of the soiled uniform, "We'll find something for you."

"Um, Thanks," Cassie said, feeling she'd missed something as she headed to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, Cassie's self-consciousness about her lack of clothing grew, _I'm stuck with no way home and all I have is the towel I'm wearing! Survival training never covered this situation…_

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, "Come in."

The door opened and the brunette who had been guarding her when she woke up, came in carrying clothes. Cassie tried to recall her name.

"Um…?"

"Faith… the name's Faith."

"Yeah, sorry."

"No sweat. I hear you're looking for a change of clothes," Faith said, placing the clothes on the end of the bed.

"Yeah, even though this isn't my planet, I don't think I can go around dressed like this," Cassie said, standing up to showcase her current attire.

Faith chuckled, "Yeah, you would definitely attract a lot of attention, and not necessarily the right kind. Man, poor old Xander would probably blow out his good eye if he saw you walking around like that."

The notion of Xander seeing her only wearing a towel caused Cassie to blush.

Faith noted the other woman blushing and tried not to laugh, "Yeah, well here are some old clothes of mine. Sort of grew out of the style. I never had too many good memories wearing them. I hope they fit," she said, turning to leave.

"Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay…? I want to ask you a few questions."

"You sure you don't want some privacy? Some people are a little squeamish about changing in front of others."

"Nah, being on a ship and in a barracks sort of kills off any expectation of privacy," Cassie said, grabbing the clothes. She turned her back, dropping the towel as she changed.

"I know what you mean."

Cassie perked up, "You were in the military?"

"Nah… prison, but same thing," Faith said, shrugging.

Cassie didn't know what to say as she finished getting dressed.

Faith shrugged again, used to how people reacted to her having been in prison. She decided not to mention anything about her "leaving" prison early as she grabbed a chair and sat down, "Shoot."

"Huh?"

"What's your questions?"

"Yeah… um… Xander explained about vampires, demons and the Hellmouth…" the words sounded crazy being said aloud, "He said you and Buffy are Slayers."

"Yup, that's us… the chosen ones," Faith said, not hiding the sarcasm from her voice.

Cassie asked a few more questions about the situation in Sunnydale. Faith did her best to answer them.

"I was wondering… how did Xander lose his eye?"

Faith sighed as that fateful night replayed in her mind, "Buffy led everyone to attack this Caleb fella down at the Vineyard…" she paused. Their attack was an utter failure with The First's servant beating off her, Buffy and Spike, killing two Potentials and taking Xander's eye. A surprising wave of hate and revulsion washed over her as she recalled it all, "That bastard Caleb gouged out Xander's eye with his thumb!"

Cassie gulped. She'd never heard of anyone doing that before. Revulsion along with a surprising sense of hatred filled her. She wished that she'd been able to bring her Alpha down in one piece to show that Caleb and those vampires what Robotechnology was.

A moment of awkward silence filled the room, Faith broke it, "Since we're sharing Cassidy, do ya mind if I ask you some questions?"

Cassie smiled, "Yeah, go ahead… and since we're sharing, call me Cassie."

Cassie's genuine tone of friendship surprised Faith. She returned the smile, "Okay… Cassie. So, you're like for real a fighter pilot and you fly in space?"

Cassie nodded, smiling, "Yeah, I did that… at least I did until I crashed here."

"You said earlier that you guys were fighting against some other aliens… called Insects?"

Cassie laughed, seeing Faith's frown she felt bad for her outburst, "Sorry… they're called Invid, and you're not too far off… think giant slugs."

"Ewww… you're kidding, right?" Faith said, wincing at having to fight giant slugs.

"Nope, and trust me, if you ever see an Invid you'll never forget… if you survive."

There was another pause, Cassie could read Faith and tell she had another question, "What is it?"

"Have you been in many fights against these… Invid?"

Cassie sighed, "It was my first battle… and looks like my last."

"Did you kill any of them?"

The question caught Cassie by surprise. She paused as she considered the question. She was proud of her actions in the battle, but the realization hit her that every fighter she destroyed contained a life form. A sense of numbness gripped her as she replayed the battle in her thoughts. She had no guilt because the Invid and the other aliens were trying to kill her. She didn't know how she felt other than the numbness.

"Yeah… I killed some," Cassie said, her voice taking a somber tone.

Faith saw how her question had hit a sensitive spot, "Sorry," she muttered.

Cassie shook her head, "Don't worry about it. If I hadn't killed them, they would have killed me."

Faith saw a part of her reflected in Cassie. She wanted to change the subject to something else as old memories and feelings returned, "If you don't mind me asking… how old are you?"

"Just turned nineteen five months ago."

Faith looked at Cassie in shock, "Nineteen, and you're an officer and flying fighters… in space!"

Cassie laughed, "Yeah, I entered the academy when I was fifteen, then started flight training when I was seventeen."

Faith shook her head in amazement, seeing Cassie in a new light, "God, you guys like to take them young! You almost sound like Slayers."

Cassie laughed, holding her hands out and turning around to show off her new ensemble, "So, do you think I can pass for a native?"

Faith gave Cassie a close-up and down inspection, "Not bad… not bad at all. You look five by five, and the purple hair just adds to the look. You won't have any problems fitting in."

"Thanks." Cassie said, smiling.

#### oOoOo

Xander sat at the dining room table with Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies. They were trying to discuss plans on how to deal with Caleb. Their previous botched attempt showed the futility of trying to take The First's servant head on. While he and some others felt this way, Buffy's determination to go back to the Vineyards was plain. This caused their discussion to go around in circles.

As Buffy and Giles argued about strategy, Xander found his thoughts wandering. He'd overheard Dawn, Willow and some others talking about how Cassie was walking around upstairs only wearing a towel. This caused him to be of two minds with one part berating himself for not being around to see her in that condition. The other part was telling him it wouldn't have been gentlemanly of him to see her… unless he happened to accidently see her.

He couldn't get Cassie out of his mind as he recalled how her uniform hugged her body. An inner voice was cursing for having missed out on this opportunity. Faith's voice cut his daydreams and fantasy's short.

"Can we join you?"

Xander had his back to Faith and turned towards her. His mouth hung open as he realized that Cassie was standing next to Faith. He couldn't help himself as his eye took her in, dressed to kill, wearing black leather pants and a tight white tank top. He'd been pondering how her uniform complemented her figure, but compared to what she was wearing now, it was a burlap sack. His eye moved between Cassie and Faith, noting the striking similarities in the pair despite Cassie's purple hair.

Faith smirked, noting the looks from everyone… especially Xander was giving Cassie. A sense of satisfaction filled her, knowing she'd done her job well as Cassie and her joined the others at the table.

Giles used the distraction to gather and refocus his thoughts from arguing with Buffy over what to do next. He glanced over and studied the Lieutenant in her new clothing. Fitting in wouldn't be a problem for her. Her problem would be the attention she would attract from gauging Xander's reaction to her attire.

"So what're we discussing?" Faith said, trying not to laugh, seeing Xander's obvious distraction.

Buffy shook her head, "We're discussing how we'll confront Caleb. I think we should take the battle back to the Vineyard and confront him there."

This distracted Xander's attention from Cassie as memories and the pain of their last disastrous replayed, "If you're asking for a vote? Then I vote no! Our last frontal assault didn't go so well!"

"We can't stop now! We have to keep going back! There's something important going on there!" Buffy said in an excited voice.

Giles nodded in agreement, "I don't doubt there's something important there, but we can't just go rushing in like last time!"

Cassie watched the discussion break down as cross-talking and arguing broke out. This was a foreign situation to her, anathema to her training and experiences. She found she couldn't take it anymore and had to intervene.

"May I suggest something?" she said, catching everybody by surprise with her strong, firm voice.

"Go ahead, Leftenant Evans," Giles said, relieved for the interruption. They were going around in circles, arguing the same points over-and-over. He understood Buffy's determination to go back to the Vineyard, but he didn't want to add any more Potentials to the casualty count from another futile confrontation.

"Thank you, and you might as well call me Cassie. My officer's commission is pretty much useless on this planet."

Cassie paused as she glanced around the room, studying the people gathered for this meeting. She barely knew these people, but she had a sense of what they'd been facing. That they'd survived for this long spoke volumes to how they handled themselves in combat situations. They may have not been soldiers, but they were veterans to fighting and surviving.

"So, we don't know why this Vineyard is so important and what forces we'll be facing? My suggestion is that we do a reconnaissance in force."

Cassie noted the puzzled looks from around the room. She tried not to let her frustration show through.

"What's that?" Willow said.

"It's where we send in a small armed force to probe the enemy's position. We try to draw the enemy out and find out what we're facing and maybe find out what's so important about the position. If we provoke a strong reaction from the enemy, we then fallback and regroup," Cassie tried to keep everything in simple, easy-to-understand language and terms for everyone.

"I like that plan!" Xander exclaimed, causing Cassie to smile and blush a bit at his unexpected praise.

Buffy was not as convinced, crossing her arms and giving Cassie a hard skeptical look, "Okay, so let's say we do this. How would we go about it?"

After having Dana Sterling ride and yell at her during survival training, Cassie didn't intimidate easily, "First thing, what weapons do we have available?"

As the group detailed their inventory of weapons, Cassie shook her head in disbelief, "You don't have any guns or explosives?"

It was Buffy's turn to shake her head, "You're still new to all this, but guns aren't that useful against vampires."

Cassie still couldn't believe all guns and explosives were ineffective, "Maybe you haven't found the right or big enough gun to use against them. What Xander has told me about vampires, it sounds like explosives and napalm would be effective against them," her tone showed that she wouldn't back down.

"You mean like a flamethrower?" Faith said, smirking, while imagining wielding one against Bringers and Turok-Hans.

Cassie returned the smirk, "Yeah, something like that."

Xander smirked as the image of the Vineyard burning to the ground with Caleb inside danced in his head, "Oh, I love where you're going with this!" he said.

"Hold on everyone! We can't go around blowing or burning up everything!" Buffy said, trying to regain control of the meeting.

Cassie refused to give ground to Buffy, "Why not?"

"Well… we-we… just can't! Giles help me out here?" Buffy said, looking towards him for help.

Cassie's plan also took Giles by surprise, "Um… I appreciate your… um… enthusiasm Left-I mean Cassie. It's not the way we do things. If we use guns and explosives, it would draw unwanted attention on us. We try to keep a low-profile and it's hard to do if we're blowing up or setting things on fire," he explained.

"From what I understand, you're already in a war! From my experiences, there is no time for half measures with what's at stake! While we're discussing weapons, where's my survival kit? It would have been with my chute."

"I'll get it!" Dawn shouted, running from the dining room. It didn't take her long to return carrying the survival kit, placing it on the table. Cassie stood and opened the case, glancing to check the kit's contents. She pulled the item that Faith and Andrew had both called "a blaster" from the case. The strange looking device fit easily in her hand.

"Is that a ray gun?" Faith said.

Cassie smirked, "This is the Gallant H-90 particle beam gun. This weapon is standard issue for all REF personnel and comes in two modes. The weapon is currently in sidearm mode. It can fire twenty-four anti-personnel shots per magazine or…" Cassie pulled pieces of equipment from her kit, attaching them to the weapon. The weapon now had a longer barrel and a rifle stock, "Forty-eight shots per magazine in rifle mode."

Buffy, still doubtful, shook her head, "I don't know how useful—," she said.

Cassie would not budge, "This weapon burns through Invid mecha armor, which I think is a lot thicker and stronger than the skin of vampires."

Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed, "That's fine, but you've never faced a vampire before," the frustration and exasperation in her voice obvious.

Cassie smirked, "A standard Invid Shock Trooper is about seventeen feet tall and weighs in at ten tons, carrying plasma guns and armored claws! Besides, a recon will give me an opportunity to test it, and measure its effectiveness against these vampires," she said, taking off the weapon's attachments.

Shock filled the room at Cassie's description of the creatures she had to fight against.

Buffy tried again to stare down the other woman, but Cassie refused to back down. They stared at each other for a long moment as everyone else in the room waited to see who would give first. Buffy saw Cassie's determination and couldn't help herself as a small smile broke across her face.

She was shaking her head, not believing she was giving in, "Okay… Okay… we'll give your plan a chance. I guess I shouldn't knock it. After all, I did use a rocket launcher to blow up the Judge in the mall."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	8. Best laid plans of…

##  **CHAPTER EIGHT  
Best laid plans of…**

" _When I found out about Sunnydale and the Hellmouth, to say I questioned my sanity would have been an understatement. It all sounded crazy and far-fetched. I mean, Vampires? Come on! They were creatures that only existed in pre-war books and movies! Even taking Xander and the others at their word, it wasn't until I saw them that the reality hit me. I've seen and been around aliens, but those demons and vampires stirred something in me... a wrongness and evil that shouldn't exist. Not even the Invid evoked such emotions in me._ "

— Cassie Evans

#### oOoOo

Buffy stood on the back steps, watching the sun begin its slow descent into night. A slight chill hit her, but it had nothing to do with the temperature or weather. She could feel them out there... waiting for her. With the sun going down, the Slayer part of her called out as the urge to patrol— _to hunt_ —grew inside her.

She wanted to go out, but it was different now. Caleb had taken her best shots and laughed them off. A sense of helplessness, she hadn't felt since facing off against Glory, filled her. The ex-priest, now The First Evil's right-hand man, wasn't interested in 'going home' or finding some mystical trinket. His goal—his only goal—was to kill her, Faith, and all the Potentials to end the Slayer bloodline. He was also nowhere as erratic as Glory, which made him even more dangerous. The back door opening interrupted her thoughts. She didn't turn as familiar footsteps approached.

Giles had a myriad of thoughts and worries on his mind as he joined Buffy to view the setting sun. Even though Cassie's plan seemed prudent and made sense, he realized Buffy still wasn't happy with the decision. Buffy was like a daughter to him, and he normally trusted her decisions, but the disaster of their last attack on the Vineyard hung over them. He saw it still haunted her, especially because of what happened to Xander.

Against The First Evil, Caleb and the Turok-Hans, they faced something different compared to the demons and vampires they had faced before. These creatures and powers were ancient... older than the written word. Despite his attempts, Giles saw no path for them to win against The First Evil and its followers.

_Maybe with Leftenant Evans's help, we might do some damage, but she's just one person..._

Giles turned his attention to Buffy. She needed to be onboard with the plan if they would have any chance of success.

"Buffy, I understand you're still not happy with Cassie's plan, but I think we should try it."

Buffy sighed, "I already agreed to try out her plan, but for the record I don't think it will work. She has no experience fighting vampires."

Giles sighed, "That may be, but her idea of going in during the day so we have the sun for cover if we have to fallback is sound."

Buffy grimaced, "Yeah, that was a pretty good idea," she admitted.

Giles wanted to change the topic, "I sat down and talked to Cassie and ask her about her world... her Earth. It was quite insightful."

He hooked Buffy's curiosity as her ears perked up and a wistful thought crossed her mind.

_A world without demons or vampires... it sounds peaceful.._.

"In the year 1999 of Cassie's reality, an alien ship crash landed on Earth. The planet was in the middle of what she called 'The Global Civil War'. The alien ship's arrival stopped the fighting and united the planet to rebuild the ship using the new technology they discovered."

It disheartened Buffy a little to learn humanity in another universe wasn't much better than hers in getting along with each other. Yet, Cassie's story and Earth still intrigued her as Giles continued.

"It was a little confusing to follow as there appear to be several groups and races involved. It would seem that the original owners of the alien ship which they called the SDF-1, sent their soldiers, called the Zentraedi to recover it. The war dragged out over several years, but humanity won. But the cost was terrible, with over 75% of the planet destroyed by the aliens."

Buffy couldn't believe what Giles was telling her. She'd faced off against her own apocalypses, but to hear of that scale of destruction and death seemed impossible and far-fetched. It shook her that millions... billions had died.

Giles noted the look of shock on Buffy's face. He'd experienced the same thing when hearing this. It didn't seem real, but it was the reality from where Cassie came from.

"From Cassie's description, these Zentraedi looked human... well, as human as one could be for someone fifty feet tall."

"Fifty feet...! You said fifty foot tall aliens?" Buffy exclaimed.

Giles nodded, "These Zentraedi were the foot soldiers for their true masters. Cassie referred to them as the Robotech Masters. After the first war, it appears these Masters made their way to Earth, and a second devastating war broke out. Again humanity won..."

"Go human race!" Buffy said, smirking, finding herself engrossed in the story.

"Yes, quite. It would appear that this second war was more of a pyrrhic victory for humanity. Both sides bled themselves dry and exhausted, leaving Earth open to attack. Another group of aliens attacked, and this time they conquered the planet."

Buffy's imagination raced as she absorbed the story and its details, "That would be those Invid she mentioned," she said.

"Yes."

"She grew up in all that?" Buffy said, shaking her head in amazement.

"No, quite the opposite. She was born on a planet called Tirol. Between the first two wars, humanity sent an expeditionary force across the galaxy to make peace with the Robotech Masters or fight them on their home ground. It would appear that these Masters left for Earth before this force arrived, missing them, but finding the Invid instead. This expeditionary force liberated Tirol, establishing themselves in that part of the galaxy. They've been fighting the Invid, liberating other races from their occupation and building their forces to retake Earth."

"Expeditionary force? That would be that REF stuff that Cassie mentioned." Buffy said.

Giles smiled at seeing how observant Buffy was, "Yes, she called it the Robotech Expeditionary Force."

Buffy shook her head, "Okay... I get the aliens, battles and all the military stuff, but what the hell is Robotech?"

Giles shrugged, "Willow and Cassie were discussing some of her technology. I didn't understand everything they discussed as it was a little over my head, but Willow was excited about the details Cassie shared with her."

Buffy shook her head, smirking as she easily imagined what kind of nerd heaven Willow was in talking with Cassie about science and technology. Her head was still shaking as she turned her attention back on the setting sun. Giles smiled as he followed suit, but he continued replaying Cassie's story over in his head.

_I wonder what Protoculture is?_

#### oOoOo

Cassie noted the growing shadows, letting out a sigh as she sat on the front steps watching the sunset. Plans, ideas and thoughts filled her head as she watched evening arrive. She'd convinced everyone to do a recon on the Vineyard, but now she had to plan out the details. A myriad array of details pulled at her as she worked on her plan. She wrestled with how big her recon force should be and who would be in it.

It was automatic, she would be in it, but she didn't know enough about the others and their capabilities to decide who should go and who should stay. She wanted to include Buffy and Faith because of their knowledge and experience. Yet, her training said she couldn't have all their key people in the recon group in case things went bad.

Not including Spike became a simple decision with them going during the daytime. When she found out he was a vampire, there was the natural initial shock, alarm and fear. Even when she watched him change his face and saw the fangs, it still didn't seem real and she wondered why they let a vampire in. They explained to her about Spike having a soul, which caused her to question some personal beliefs because she'd never been a religious person. Yet, she figured there was more to it because she'd also overheard talk about Spike being involved with Buffy.

Either way, because of her decision to go during the day, that meant Spike was off the list. Her thoughts drifted to Xander, and she found herself confused as she thought about him. He had experience in what they would face, but his one eye might handicap him. The more she reflected on it, she realized she didn't want him getting hurt because of her plan. It surprised her to find herself this concerned and worried over a guy she'd just met.

She tried to brush off her worries and thoughts of Xander and focus on planning the recon mission. Trying to find the best approach, she raked her memory for every detail and tidbit of information from her academy days and what her training instructors drilled into her. She wanted the perfect plan, but then remembered an adage one of her instructors continually tried to pound into everyone's head.

_"_ _No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy..."_

After reviewing her choices and options, she worked out the details of her plan. Cassie decided on Buffy, the former school principal... Robin, and several of the Potentials would go in with her.

In case things went sideways, she planned on having a second group waiting outside the Vineyard. This group would have Faith, Xander and several more Potentials. They would only move in to support the first group if things went bad. To make up for the lack of heavy weapons and explosives, she planned on using Molotov cocktails—gasoline bombs—to torch the place if they needed to take it out.

_If this Vineyard is important to our enemy... we'll just have to deny it to them..._

She continued reviewing her plan, trying to determine if she'd missed anything. The front door opening drew her attention as Xander stepped out of the house. Despite her earlier worries and confusion about him, a smile grew seeing him.

He gave her a sheepish grin, "Mind if I join you?"

"No, please," she said.

The grin on Xander's face grew bigger at her invitation. He didn't hesitate, taking a seat on the steps next to her.

#### oOoOo

Inside, through the living room window, Anya spied on the couple, watching as Xander and the other woman—Cassie—exchanged small talk. Whenever the 'alien' laughed at one of Xander's jokes, it stoked her anger.

She wasn't blind to how _her_ Xander looked at this alien, especially after getting 'dress like a slut' style tips from Faith. More dark thoughts circulated seeing how this woman was emulating Faith and recalling how the other Slayer had been Xander's first sexual partner.

_I could dye my hair purple, but why should I when they say blondes have more fun! It's statistically proven blondes have better chances of finding sexual partners..._

The jealousy of seeing Xander with the other woman took Anya by surprise. Even though they were friends again, after leaving her standing at the altar, she wasn't planning any future with him. They had settled into a comfortable routine over the last few weeks of rebuilding their friendship and adding in extra physical benefits.

They both told each other the sex meant nothing... it was an outlet and release from the dangers and pressures all around them. Despite those affirmations, her dark thoughts continued as her jealousy grew. A deep voice from behind caught her by surprise.

"Don't they look the cute couple... Aud?"

Anya spun to face the voice, shock filling her to find an enormous man, dressed in medieval clothing, standing in the middle of the empty living room.

"Olaf...?" she whispered, recognizing the man.

"Come now, Aud... or should I call you Anya? How about Anyanka? So many names, but then you've lived such a long time."

"You can't be Olaf? I-I turned you-him into—."

"A troll, yes you did, and that witch banished me to another dimension."

"H-How?" Anya whispered, fear and shock filling her voice.

"Does it matter?" Olaf said, giving her a smile.

Sounds of laughter drifted in from the front steps.

"It looks like Xander has found himself a new friend. I can't help but notice how much she looks like Faith in those clothes. I wonder if he noticed the similarities too. Hmmm... makes me wonder how long before she's out of those clothes and sleeping with him. Where will that leave poor old mortal Anya?"

Anya stood frozen in shock, unable to respond.

Olaf's smile twisted into a sinister grin, "Yes, poor old Anya is a mortal now. What does it feel like after living for so long knowing you'll die soon... all alone? It must be hard watching Xander pick up with his life and go on without a care in the world... or even give a thought to how he hurt you?"

Anya shook her head in denial, trying to fight through her shock as a wave of emotions flooded through her. Xander cared about her! They'd talked about their breakup, and he'd apologized for it. They were friends... taking things day by day.

The sound of laughter drifting in from outside hit her like a hammer. A small voice echoed at the back of her thoughts... reminding her about how all men were betrayers. How they even betrayed her!

Noting how he'd shaken Anya, a sad pouty expression now filled Olaf's face, "Yes, it must be hard seeing him happy. Then there's you. Poor Anya... aging... alone, just waiting for death to take you. All the while, that other woman gets to enjoy and take pleasure from Xander. I can almost hear their moans of pleasure," he taunted.

Anya pushed through her shock, realizing what was going on, "You're not Olaf! You're The First!"

Olaf smirked, "I guess you're not that dumb for being a blonde. Though you're still left with the problem of Xander and that purple-haired slut."

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Anya shouted, closing her eyes and covering her ears to block out The First Evil and her own thoughts.

"Fine... I only stopped by to give some advice. If you want to get Xander back, I think you need to make that alien disappear."

"GO AWAY!"

The image of Olaf shrugged, "Suit yourself. If it was me, I would want to take care of my problem. Don't you think the government would like to know about this alien? I would think they would want to know."

Anya stood there, shaking her head, trying to block out The First's voice.

"They could come in and haul her away... put her in a secure place. Hey! Maybe they'll do a vivisection on her? That would be quite the sight! Better yet, if you're in a rush to get rid of her, just leave the door open tonight, we'll come in and take her. We won't touch anyone else... just her. Quickly and quietly. Then your problem is all solved," Olaf's image said, smirking.

Anya pressed her face into her hands, trying to push away everything. The First's voice filled her ears as images of Cassie being hauled away mixed with images of Xander and Cassie together flashed in her head. At the thought of Cassie being gone and Xander being hers again, a warm, happy feeling grew inside her. Another voice caught her by surprise, bringing her back to the moment.

"Anya? Are you alright?"

Anya pulled her hands away from her face. Dawn stood at the edge of the living room, a worried expression filling her face.

"Huh?" Anya said, trying to recover and compose herself.

Dawn's concern was obvious, "Are you alright? I thought I heard you talking to someone in here?"

Anya took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control. Despite presenting a calm appearance, thoughts and emotions raged inside her, "I'm fine... everything's alright. No problems here," she muttered.

#### oOoOo

Evening had taken hold as everyone squeezed into the dining room. They'd gathered, so Cassie could outline her plan for the next day. As she explained her plan, a gamut of expressions and emotions charged the room. Confusion was the most common expression, but there was also unhappiness... especially from Buffy.

Cassie noted the looks among the gathered people as she outlined her plan. A small sigh escaped as she kept reminding herself these people weren't military even though they were fighting a war. She realized she needed to smooth the situation which is why she was opening the floor to questions.

Cassie glanced around the room, "Anyone got questions? This is the time to ask them."

Giles spoke up, "I think it's a good plan. I think it will allow us to gather much needed information."

Spike quickly weighed in, "Oh, you would say that Rupert! While everyone is bandying about, I'm stuck in the bloody basement playing tiddlywinks with myself!"

"Thanks, I didn't need the visually imagery," Xander added, rolling his eye.

"Sod off, mouth breather!"

The room degenerated as cross-talking and arguing broke out among the group.

"ENOUGH!" Cassie said in a firm voice, her tone catching everyone by surprise.

The room quieted down as everyone looked to Cassie.

"Okay, everyone, we're here to discuss this plan. If there's anything we've missed or need to adjust for that's what we're here to do. Buffy, you got something to say?" Cassie said, meeting Buffy's gaze.

Buffy found herself a little out of sorts at the situation and how Cassie had taken charge and handled herself. It was always her at the front of the room, telling everyone what the plan was and breaking up the Xander-Spike exchanges. She'd been holding her reservations in check until she heard the plan. With Cassie now asking, it was time to get them off her chest.

"Yeah, I got a couple of points. I don't like we're leaving Spike out of this plan… and really, gasoline bombs!"

As the muttering and whispering started, Cassie stepped in to keep things from getting out of hand again, "I understand your concerns."

"That's great you understand my concerns, but leaving out one of our strongest fighters smells of bad planning," Buffy said, her tone sounding harsh.

Cassie's training took over as she took a deep breath to calm herself before responding. Buffy reminded her of Dana Sterling. She compared the two women and wondered who would win in a fight... especially once Dana got the Zentraedi side of her going.

"It was a trade-off. We could go in at night with Spike, but if things go wrong, we would have to fallback in the dark. Under normal circumstances, I would be all for that, but we're dealing with an enemy that night is their element and we would be at the disadvantage. If things go bad, we've at least got the sun on our side to allow us to get the hell out of there. The bonus is that we may catch the enemy sleeping or unprepared for us during the day. The gas bombs are a last resort if we have to fall back or if we find something we have to keep out of the enemy's hands. I would rather deny the enemy the use of the Vineyard and not get stuck in there fighting for our lives. Does that answer your question?"

Stunned silence filled the room as everyone glanced back and forth between Buffy and Cassie. Both women stared at each other... neither of them willing to give ground. For Xander and Willow, their shock was greater because they'd never seen anyone take Buffy to task for planning. To them, she was the Slayer and always had a plan or a way to deal with whatever they were facing.

Faith broke the awkward tension, "Damn! I thought I would never see something like this! Cassie, you sure you're not a Slayer or at least a Potential?"

Cassie chuckled, thankful for the tension-breaker, "Buffy, I realize this isn't the master battle plan to end the war. This is just a recon mission to gather intel and see how effective my Gallant is against vampires. Hell, I wish I could call in an airstrike or send in some Destroids, but that's not going to happen!"

Buffy sighed, noting the disapproving expression on Giles's face. She'd said she would give Cassie's plan a try. Despite her reservations, Cassie's plan was trying to minimize their exposure and the danger. Also, the other woman didn't shy away from the fight... Cassie would go into the belly of the beast with them. Buffy just hoped they wouldn't regret this plan.

Buffy shook her head, but realized she'd lost this round, "Okay, I said we would try it your way."

Cassie gave Buffy a nod and smile as she covered off more of the plan details, involving timing and the equipment they would need. As she talked, she noticed Anya standing in the corner, glaring at her.

#### oOoOo

Dawn was heading to the kitchen for a late-night snack. She couldn't sleep and took advantage of the quiet that settled over the house with everyone asleep. Though she wasn't as stealthy as her sister, she was quiet enough not to disturb or wake anyone as she headed for the stairs.

She paused as she reached the top of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, she saw the shadowy outline of a person standing by the front door. Caution and worry filled her as she started down the stairs, trying to make out the person standing in front of the door.

"Anya?" she whispered, a cold clammy sensation gripping her as she recognized the figure and tried to figure out what was going on.

Dawn's voice rose in worry, "Anya? Are you alright?"

"Go back to bed, Dawn," Anya replied, her voice sounding dead with no emotion.

Rather than put her at ease, Anya's tone only alarmed Dawn, "Anya, you're scaring me. Why don't you step away from the door? We can go have some warm milk or tea? I think we still have some Oreos... you like Oreos?"

Dawn noticed a few of the Potentials sleeping in the living room stir. She cautiously moved down the stairs, trying to figure what was wrong and what to do. She jumped as a man's voice shouted from behind her.

"ANYA! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Anya's eyes turned to Xander at the top of the stairs as lights turned on as people work up wondering what was happening. A small sad smile flashed on her face as she stepped closer towards the front door.

"I wanted us to be together... I loved you," Anya said as The First's taunting words echoed in her head and the sadness and loneliness gripped her.

A confused Xander tried to figure out what was going on. He'd woken up and was heading to the bathroom when he'd heard voices, "Anya, don't be crazy here. Step away from the door... don't open it!"

Anya shook her head, "He told me I could have you back. It would be easy. All I have to do is open the door and they would just take her."

Xander's shouts had woken and alerted Buffy to something happening. She rushed into the living room expecting a threat only to find Anya moving towards the front door. She'd caught the conversation, but grew only more confused while trying to make sense of what was happening, "Anya... who's he? Take who?"

Anya glanced towards Buffy, "It was Olaf, but it wasn't Olaf," she replied in a flat voice.

Shock filled Xander as he put together Anya's ramblings, sliding down the stairs, past Dawn, towards Anya, "Anya, that wasn't Olaf. That was The First... it was messing with your mind!" he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

A tear rolled down Anya's face as she tried to smile and failed, "I know that! I knew who it was, but it told me it would be so easy to get rid of her. After she's gone, I would have you back and we would be back to the way we were..."

Xander drifted towards Anya, trying not to spook her. A quick side glance told him that Buffy, Faith, Robin and Giles also moved towards Anya, but letting him take the lead. As he approached her, she edged herself backwards towards the door, forcing him to pause.

"Anya, I know that I hurt you. What I did was wrong, and I have to live with that. We're not together, but that doesn't mean I still don't care for you," Xander said, eyeing her as she moved closer to the door.

Tears ran down Anya's face as she grappled with all the hurt and confusing emotions, "I know that! We could have had another chance, but with her around, that just means it's over! I don't want to be alone... I don't want to die alone!" she said, her voice cracking under the emotional strain.

Xander knew The First had messed with Anya, but he still didn't know what she was talking about, "Who're you talking about? I don't know who you're talking about? You're not alone! You have friends who care about you!" he said, getting closer to her.

"That purple-haired alien! I've seen the way you look at her... sitting with her... following her around!"

Her words struck him hard, "You're talking about Cassie?" he replied in a surprised voice.

Anya's words set his thoughts a racing. He had to admit his attraction to Cassie since setting eyes on her, and their brief time spent together only increasing it. She shared a lot with Buffy ... beauty, smarts, strength and determination. Yet, she also had a vulnerable side she hadn't been ashamed to show him. Buffy and Faith both hated to show that side of themselves... they felt it weakened them somehow.

Xander pushed this revelation about his feelings towards Cassie to the back of his thoughts as he focused on Anya. He fought the urge to lunge for her as she moved ever closer to the door. A wave of anger grew in him. They'd already had one Potential hang herself after The First messed with her. He would not lose Anya to that non-corporeal bastard as he kept whispering her name as he closed the distance to her.

The thought of losing Anya opened the old guilt wounds of how he'd hurt her. It was his fault she was in this position for The First to exploit her, but he couldn't change the past or take back what he'd done.

As she got closer to the door, he saw her hand reaching out for the door handle. He knew he couldn't wait any longer. It one fast movement he lunged for Anya, pulling her to him. As he hugged her, she collapsed in his arms, sobbing. He led her away into the dining room, all the time whispering her name.

While not everyone knew the history between Anya and Xander, everyone exhaled a sigh of relief at having averted a crisis. Everyone had walked away in one piece...

The living room window exploding shattered the sense of relief as something came crashing through it. Buffy recognized the threat coming through the window.

"BRINGER!" she shouted, moving to deal with the intruder.

As she shouted, four more Bringers came crawling through the window. Screams and shouts filled the house as fear and pandemonium took over with people scrambling to get out of the way or engage the attackers.

As Buffy took on the first Bringer, she glanced Faith, Robin, Giles and Spike moving to stop the flow of more Bringers from entering the house. More screams filled the living room, and she recognized them as coming from Potentials. Two of the young women were being swarmed by the Bringers who'd gotten into the house.

Buffy's anger grew, seeing the two Potentials stabbed to death. She directed her anger on the Bringer, landing several hard blows on the creature's head, sending it staggering. There was no hesitation or mercy as she spun the Bringer, grabbing the eyeless creature by the neck, and in one quick motion snapped its neck.

The dead Bringer's body dropped to the floor as she turned to face the next attacker. The nightmarish scene of blood and screams filled her head as she pushed towards the window to help stop the unending flow of attackers...

Bright bolts of light, coming from above, striking the Bringers trying to climb in through the window, caught everyone by surprise. The bolts cut down The First's minions, leaving smoking holes in their bodies, as they struggled through the window.

Buffy spun towards from where the shots were coming from. Cassie stood on the stairs, her weapon in hand, unleashing a barrage of fire on the shattered window opening and the attackers.

"BASTARDS!" Cassie screamed, continuing to fire shot after shot into the enemy.

Everything seemed to being going fast, but Cassie kept her focus, picking her targets while gripping her Gallant pistol in a two-handed firing stance. The creatures coming through the windows appeared to have no eyes... or at least where there should be eyes there were only scars across the eye sockets. The screams and shouts along with the blood added to the surrealness of what surrounded her. She pushed her revulsion down as she concentrated and kept firing. All the while, a part of her noted how this was so different from flying a fighter in combat.

Then as fast as it began, it was all over. The few surviving attackers outside were beating a hasty retreat into the night. Cassie looked upon the carnage of the living room and the remains of the window opening, breathing heavy. The timing was perfect as the last energy capacitor ejected from her weapon. Ingrained by training, she inserted a new capacitor magazine into her weapon. A grim expression etched her face at the realization she only had two spare energy magazines for her Gallant in sidearm mode.

#### oOoOo

A subdued group gathered in the dining room after clearing away the dead bodies from inside and outside the house. They'd boarded up the shattered window opening to keep anyone else from entering. Shock still clung to everyone as the smell of death along with burning flesh and blood hung in the air. Buffy studied everyone as she tried to calm and unwind herself from the fight. Exhaustion hung over everyone, but no one was in the mood to go back to sleep.

A grim, exhausted expression etched Giles's face, "How many did we lose?"

"Two girls... they were by the window when they attacked. They didn't have a chance," Robin replied, the anger and sadness obvious in his tone.

Giles turned to Xander, "How's Anya?"

Xander sighed, "I've got her settled down. Dawn's with her right now... I didn't want to leave her alone."

Giles nodded as he turned to Faith, Buffy and Cassie who stood together at the end of the table. He realized how Cassie seemed to fit right in with the other two Slayers, even though she wasn't one. He shuddered to think what would have happened if Cassie hadn't been here with her weapon to help hold back the rush of Bringers. Even though they had lost two Potentials, over twenty Bringers died in their aborted attack. This setback might even cause The First and Caleb to pause and re-evaluate their plans... at least temporarily.

"Thank you, Cassie," he said, studying the young woman. The angry look on her face took him by surprise.

"A fat lot of good that will do when I'm out of ammo!" she spat out in disgust.

"Still, if you weren't here, it could have been worse," Giles said, trying to reassure and calm Cassie.

"Yeah, without your ray gun to hold back those Bringers, we would still be hip deep in them!" Faith added.

Cassie shook her head in frustration, picking through her survival case on the table, "I've got nothing else we can use to fight those bastards with!"

"Take it easy, Cassie," Buffy adding her part to calm her.

"Damn it! It's all useless! I would trade my soul for a crate of energy magazines or better yet for a Cyclone! All I've got are a couple of spare energy magazines, survival knife, food and an emergency beacon!"

As her frustration took over, Cassie picked up the beacon and activated it, "Who the hell am I going to communicate with here?" she said, adding an angry sarcastic laugh. Her frustration and exhaustion got the better of her as she slammed the beacon on the table and stormed off into the kitchen.

Xander followed Cassie into the kitchen. She stood in front of the sink, looking out the window, "Are you alright?"

Cassie sighed, "I don't know... I-I've faced nothing like that before," she said, her voice sounding shaky and scared.

Xander recognized the shock she was going through. He understood Cassie had seen battle before, but tonight differed from being in a fighter. Flying a fighter put some distance and isolated you from the battle. Yes, the danger was still the same, but when you saw and smelled the blood and heard the screams... that's a life changing experience.

Xander moved closer to Cassie, putting his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She caught him by surprise, turning towards him and moving closer. He didn't hesitate, putting his arms around her to hug her. She didn't pull away, but moved even closer, burying her face in his shoulder. Time fell away before she pulled away, but staying in his grasp.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at him.

It took Xander a moment to realize she'd said something as he lost himself gazing into her eyes. Her apology surprised and confused him, "What do you have to be sorry about?"

"I wish there was more I could do," she paused, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry I caused problems between you and Anya. I didn't mean to."

Her statement surprised him, "You've done a lot for us and you'll keep fighting with us. I have no doubt about that," he said, getting a small smile from Cassie, "About Anya and me, we have a lot of history together. I won't lie... we almost got married. Despite the wedding falling through, we're still close. I care about her, but what happened tonight was her being manipulated by The First Evil... it likes to do things like that."

Cassie shuddered, remembering what Xander had told her about The First Evil. The idea of something existing that could assume the form of anyone dead you knew to taunt and torment you seemed unreal and alien to her.

Cassie suddenly noticed Xander's arms still wrapped around her... holding her. She discovered she was enjoying this moment with him. Time froze as she gazed up into his face, looking into his good eye. The moment ended as Willow stuck her head in through the kitchen door.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she said, caught by surprise and embarrassed at interrupting Xander and Cassie.

Xander smiled, not taking his eye off Cassie, "It's okay, Will. What's up?" he said.

Willow moved a little more into the kitchen, trying to shake off her embarrassment, "Uhhh, Cassie."

"Yes, Willow?" Cassie replied, not taking her eyes off Xander.

"That thing you were handling before you came in here?"

Cassie's focus was on Xander that she wasn't giving Willow's question much thought, "Yeah, that's my emergency beacon. What about it?"

"It-It seems to be talking," Willow said in a surprised voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	9. I'll let you know

##  **CHAPTER NINE  
I'll let you know**

" _When I got the call about problems in Sunnydale, my first thought was_ 'My God, not again!' _. I knew enough about Sunnydale to give me nightmares about some apocalyptic event occurring there. The last thing I wanted was another muddled Initiative-type screw-up. Never in my wildest imaginations or dreams did I even consider where it would take us._ "

— General Phil Coulson

#### oOoOo

Cassie barely avoided running over Willow as she rushed back into the dining room. She froze as she caught the familiar crackling sound of radio static coming from her emergency beacon. Through the static, she picked up a faint voice, fading in and out.

 _"…_ _peat… this… RE… …dia, we… signal… emerg… frequ… We… barely read… boost signal… …pond."_

Giles glanced back and forth between Cassie and the beacon on the table, "Cassie, who's that? What does this mean?"

Cassie froze, unable to believe her ears. She'd thought she was the only one to survive, but the voice coming from the beacon was telling her otherwise. As the message repeated, she shook off her shock and grabbed the beacon. Holding it delicately, she tapped her identification code into the beacon's keypad, and spoke into it.

"This is Lieutenant Cassidy Evans from the REF Vanguard, call sign designation Viper-12. I have crashed landed on the planet Earth. Transmitting beacon coordinates…"

She tapped on the keypad again and waited. Time dragged before the speaker crackled to life again.

 _"…_ _Evans …ly read you… …oost signal… Arcadia out…"_

"My god," Cassie muttered as the implications hit her.

Like the others in the dining room, Buffy watched the confusing scene play out. She didn't know what to make of Cassie's mutterings and the huge smile forming on her face, "What's wrong?"

"We need to find something to increase the signal range!" Cassie said, trying to keep her excitement in check as a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings filled her.

Buffy was still unsure of what was happening, "Hold on! What's going on?" she demanded.

Cassie couldn't keep her excitement contained, "There's a ship out there… one of my ships! It's the Arcadia!" she replied, trying to get her thoughts under control as the excitement took control.

The blank, confused looks she got from the group told her they didn't understand what was happening.

Her excitement bubbled to the surface as she babbled, "The Arcadia was my task force's flagship! She's out there and can help us! They might even have a way for me to get home!"

Stunned expressions replaced the confusion as her excited ramblings sank in.

#### oOoOo

Spike stood off to the side, watching the people sitting at the dining room table babbling back and forth. He didn't understand or make much sense of what Willow, Andrew and Cassie were going on about. Like the others, it shocked him to find out that there was another ship full of "aliens" out there.

His eyes drifted over to Cassie, giving her an appraising look. At first, he hadn't given her much thought or consideration beyond obvious curiosity. After the fight with the Bringers, her value grew in his eyes. The smell of burnt flesh and blood his vampire senses could still pick up was a testament to her value in a fight. She might not be a Slayer, but she had her fancy laser gun, and kept her composure during the fight, which said a lot.

His eyes lingered over Cassie, studying her closer… how she carried herself along with her attitude and demeanor had him doing mental comparisons with Buffy. His heart belonged to Buffy, but he wasn't dead… at least not that dead not to notice her and the figure she cut wearing Faith's clothes. He'd observed how Xander watched Cassie, following her around like a love-sick puppy. It was bloody obvious the wanker had a thing for her. He suspected the feelings were mutual as he'd caught her checking Xander out when he wasn't looking.

A mischievous grin etched Spike's face as a thought crossed his mind, _I should take a run at her, just to piss him off. That would be the trifecta… Buffy, Anya and Cassie! I can almost hear him howling right now!_

Spike shook off the idea. No matter how appealing or fun it would be, this wasn't the time for a stunt like this. Besides, Buffy would probably kick his ass in a not so pleasant manner if he tried something like that. Brushing away thoughts of seducing Cassie, he focused on the group at the table as they continued to babble in what he considered was complete gibberish.

His boredom grew as he leaned over to Buffy, whispering in her ear, "Sounds like a bloody nerd convention."

Buffy rolled her eyes, but Faith standing next to them overheard him and couldn't help laughing. Everyone in the room stopped talking and looked in her direction. Faith blushed as everyone stared at her.

"Sorry," she mumbled, her eyes darting around the room in embarrassment.

Giles used the interruption to get an idea of what was going on, "So what have you been discussing?"

Willow glanced at Cassie and Andrew, then at Giles, "We've been trying to figure out why the signal is coming in weak. We're also discussing what we can do to increase the beacon's signal power and range."

Andrew noted the confused looks and chimed in, "Radio waves work on a line-of-sight principal. The ship is just within the broadcast arc, but it could be the distance or something is blocking the signal from getting through."

Giles tried grasping all the technical details, "Do you know what's causing problems with the signal?"

Cassie nodded, "The moon…"

"Come again?" Giles said, shaking his head.

Cassie's face took on a grim expression, "We think the moon and our position on the planet are causing the problem."

She noted his confused face, "If the Arcadia arrived here the same way I did, it's possible they were further out from the planet than I was. Once they realized what was happening and where they were, they may have hidden behind the moon while they tried to figure out what was going on. At the same time, they would want to monitor the planet. They need to minimize their exposure, so I figure they're hanging at the edge of the moon's horizon, visible to the planet."

"That's a lot of supposition with no actual evidence," Giles said, trying to understand what was going on.

"That makes sense," Robin blurted out. His statement caused everyone to turn towards him, looking at him in surprise.

Robin ignored them, continuing, "Listen, about the same time Cassie crashed here, there was a report of a bright flashing light and a gravity disturbance near the moon. They were talking on the news about a meteor or a comet hitting the moon, but what if it was something else?"

Cassie's eyes lit up, "Gravity disturbances and a bright light are by-products of a space-fold… it has to be them!"

Giles shook his head, still unsure of everything, "Okay, so it looks like some of your compatriots are here and they are using the moon for cover. How do we communicate with them?"

"We need to boost the strength and quality of the beacon's signal," Willow replied.

Giles let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, I understand that, but how do we do it?"

Willow smiled, "We can use one of the town's radio stations. They have big broadcast transmitters and antennas."

Xander jumped in, "I don't want to rain on your parade. I'm no rocket scientist, but most of the town is without power now, and you need power to run that equipment."

Willow glared at Xander before breaking into a smile, "Radio stations have diesel generators to provide emergency backup power…"

Xander grasped what his friend was saying, "Okay, so let's get going!" he said as his excitement took over.

"Hang on, Xander. I think Willow is about to give us a 'but'," Buffy said, reading her friend's face.

Willow nodded, "There are two 'buts'…" she said.

"Two buts? I thought there was only the one 'but'!" Xander said, shaking his head in confusion.

Willow rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Xander, "The first 'but' is easy… we may need to take fuel for the generators, they're probably empty by now."

"And, the second 'but'?" Giles said.

Willow sighed, glancing at Cassie, "This 'but' is a little trickier… we need to figure out how to interface the emergency beacon with the radio station's equipment," she replied.

Cassie added, "The beacon comes with an interface port, but the connections may be incompatible. We might have to rig something up, but we won't know until we get there and find out."

"What's the problem? I say we get going!" Xander replied, standing up.

Giles understood what part of the problem was, "Sit down, Xander. How long would you need to hook things up?"

All three people sitting at the table shrugged. Cassie spoke, "That's the problem. We won't know until we try. It could be quick or could take hours."

"And, we must stay at the station while you work on it," Giles replied, grasping what the problem was.

Cassie nodded, giving him a grim expression.

Everyone grasped that for however long it took to complete the work at the radio station, they were out in the open and exposed.

Giles considered their options and realized they had limited choices, "I would suggest we cancel the reconnaissance mission. As soon as it is light, we take everyone and gather what we need and find a radio station that will serve our purposes. I think we'll need as much daylight as we can get to complete this work."

#### oOoOo

Captain Coleiro paced the bridge by the communications station, trying to keep his impatience in check, "Anything else?"

"No, sir. Other than the pilot's name and a partial ID, everything else was too faint to read," replied the Ensign manning the communications station.

"And, you're sure it was one of our beacons?"

"Yes, sir! It was on our emergency distress frequency. We've picked up nothing else on that channel since arriving here."

Another crewman spoke up, "Sir! We've run the name through our databases and confirmed that there was a Lieutenant Cassidy Evans flying with Viper Squadron off the Vanguard."

"Were we able to get a fix on beacon's location?"

"We could only get a general location… nothing specific. The signal is coming from the western region of the North American continent. That would make sense since that region is just moving out of our line-of-sight," replied the communications Ensign.

Coleiro struggled to keep his frustration and impatience in check, "When will they be back in range?"

"Hard to say, sir. It depends on where the Lieutenant is in that region, but my best estimate is we should be back in range in the next twelve to fourteen hours."

"Understood, keep monitoring the channel for anything. Inform me immediately if you hear anything."

"Yes, sir!"

Coleiro moved back to his bridge station to consider the situation and the possible ramifications of any actions.

"Ensign, I want the War Room on Deck One brought online, and have Lieutenant Hanson report there ASAP. I also want all sensor data and telemetry we've collected on the planet transmitted down there," Coleiro ordered, leaving his chair for the bridge elevators.

"Yes, sir," the Ensign replied.

#### oOoOo

Used to co-ordinate large-scale space, air and ground operations. The War Room provided facilities to senior and fleet command officers and their staffs for planning and overseeing strategic and tactical operations.

At the center of the room sat a huge holographic table. It could project battlefield intel and data gathered not only from the ship's sensors, but from data collected from other ships, recon, Elint and AWACS craft. The War Room was in off-line mode, but the Captain now required its resources and capabilities.

The room was online, as he walked in, with the holographic table display shimmering as he approached. In an instant, a blue and white world appeared, projected above the table along with the moon and Arcadia, showing their current relative positions.

Coleiro leaned on the table, studying the holographic images as his mind considered options and plans. He almost didn't hear Lieutenant Hanson enter the room.

"Sir," Hanson said, coming to a parade rest behind the Captain.

"At ease, Lieutenant. Come here and give me your thoughts," Coleiro said, motioning the young officer over.

Hanson kept his nervousness in check as he approached. Without thinking, he leaned against the table mimicking the Captain, studying the holographic projections and the data streaming on the display screens situated around the room.

Silence filled the War Room for ten minutes before the Captain spoke, "So, Lieutenant… how do we go about recovering our pilot?"

Hanson stood up, "Sir, until we can get a location fix on Lieutenant Evans, it will be hard to plan let alone execute any operation."

"Agreed, but we can take certain steps."

"Sir?"

"How many shuttle crews are on their rest rotation from the recovery operations?"

"We have nineteen shuttle crews. Ten are on scheduled rest periods," Hanson replied.

"Okay as of right now we're going to re-task our recovery operations. All shuttle crews are to go on standby and immediate rest break. I want you to find the crew that has the most Horizont dropship experience and I want them in the simulators practicing re-entries and orbital insertions. Find out which crew are most experienced in electronic warfare and countermeasures, I would like four crews to man our AWACS, but we can get by with three. In three hours, I want one AWAC sortied. They're to make a slow, quiet approach on the planet and establish a geosynchronous orbit over the North American continent. They're to use passive sensors to scan the planet and relay the data back here. I want them to concentrate on military radio and radar frequencies. I'll want the other AWACS on standby to either replace the one in orbit or ready for deployment to support SAR operations."

"What about the drone recovery operation?"

Coleiro sigh, knowing re-tasking crews would cause delays, "We still need those drones… I still want six crews assigned to recovery operations on a three-and-three rotating schedule. They're to only search for and tag drones for future recovery. They will only perform recovery operations if the drone is in danger or at risk of being lost. As of now, our priority is recovering our wayward pilot… understood?"

"Yes, sir," Hanson replied. His tone had a slight questioning tone to it.

Coleiro picked up the Lieutenant's tone, "You have a question?"

"Sir… what's the rescue plan?"

The Captain's sigh caught Hanson by surprise, "Lieutenant, I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out myself."

#### oOoOo

It was earlier than the Secretary of Defense would normally arrive at his office, but the nature and urgency of the phone call he'd received dictated this arrival time.

Upon entering his office, four senior officers rose to their feet from the chairs arrayed in front of the SecDef's desk. He waved them to sit back down as he took his own seat. Studying the gathered General officers, he took a deep breath before starting.

The SecDef didn't want to waste any time with formalities or pointless discussions, "What happened?"

An Air Force General spoke, "Sir, there's been no further developments with the object near the moon. As per SOP's, we reviewed all data from radar and other electronic gathering sources to see if we missed anything."

A frown formed on the SecDef's face as he picked up on the General's tone. A bad feeling was brewing in his gut, "What did you find?"

"Sir, when the event near the moon occurred, we didn't think there was any major impact to our systems. On reviewing the data it appears for ten minutes our radar and early warning tracking systems were nonfunctional."

The shock hit the SecDef as he tried to keep his emotions in check and not tear a strip from the General. He took a deep breath to calm himself, "So, what you're telling me is that for ten minutes, we had no clue what was happening in our airspace? And you're just finding out about this now?" he said, trying not to bite his tongue.

The Air Force General sweated while trying to explain this failure in their defense warning systems, "Sir, the impact was on our high-altitude and space tracking systems. At first, we noticed nothing because there was no data to report… nothing at all. We think the gravity disturbance from the event distorted our systems, but did not bring them down or cause any interference which we would have noticed."

A grim look settled on the SecDef's face. His thoughts were racing as he considered the situation and consequences, "Gentlemen, you did not call me this early just to tell me about this breakdown in our warning systems."

"No, sir," replied the Air Force General, "During our review, we also discovered reports of a meteor entering the atmosphere during that ten-minute window. Reports have the fireball streaking across the sky over California."

Alarm and anger filled the SecDef, "Why am I hearing about this now?" he demanded.

An Army General stepped in to deflect the SecDef's anger, "Sir, there was nothing to indicate it was anything else other than a meteor. Ground-based radar logs showed the object breaking up in the sky."

Despite the General's reassurances, the SecDef recognized they wouldn't be mentioning this if it wasn't something more serious, "What's changed?"

"Four hours ago, we received an anonymous phone call reporting debris from the fireball covering a wide area of California and Nevada. The caller provided us some GPS coordinates and also reported something descending from the sky. At first, we considered it a crank call, but considering what has happened, this report required further follow up."

The SecDef's wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway, "Have you sent anyone to investigate those coordinates?"

"Yes, sir. The ground teams reported they've found debris in the area as per the phone call. There are no reports of any civilian or military aircraft being in the area at the time of this sighting. Our teams found only small pieces of debris strewn in the area, and they've begun recovery operations for further analysis. Our investigation and analysis is only at a preliminary stage—."

The SecDef's impatience burst through, "Cut the bullshit, General! What did they find?"

The General took a breath, "Sir, remember this is just a preliminary field report… the debris appears to be from an aircraft of an unknown type and design."

Silence filled the office. The SecDef broke it, "Is there anything else?"

"Sir, in the phone call, the caller reported the object descending from the fireball was near the town of Sunnydale, California. We wanted to brief you on the current situation before we follow up on the Sunnydale angle."

The SecDef's eyes shot wide open, "Sunnydale! You said Sunnydale?"

The Secretary's reaction at the mention of the town's name caught the Generals off-guard. His mind raced as he tried to get control of himself at the mention of this particular town.

_Oh God… why Sunnydale?_

He took a deep breath, getting himself somewhat calmer, "Gentlemen… this is a direct order… consider this a direct Presidential order! Under no circumstances are you to send anyone into Sunnydale to investigate this report."

"But, sir?"

"There are no exceptions to this order! I will deal with Sunnydale while you continue your recovery and investigation of the debris! Understood?" the SecDef's tone implied he wouldn't tolerate questions about his orders.

"Yes, sir!" the officers replied in unison as they stood to attention.

What was only a 'simmering situation' was now escalating towards a crisis. The SecDef needed to get ahead of this before things got worse. He couldn't waste any more time, "You're dismissed! Keep me apprised of any changes or developments!" the SecDef said brusquely, ignoring the officers' obvious confusion as he waved them out.

The officers left, leaving the SecDef alone with his thoughts. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he got up, heading to his wall safe and punched in his security code to open it. It didn't take long to find the file folder he needed. He browsed the folder's contents as he headed back to his desk. He'd never accessed this file before, but his predecessor had briefed him on its contents. It was a file he'd hoped he would never have to open, but unfolding events were changing all that.

His gaze fixed on the picture of a young blonde woman as he sat back down. It was an older photo because she didn't appear to be older than twenty in the picture. He shook his head as he read the name on the report attached to the photo.

_Buffy Summers… Buffy Anne Summers…_

The Secretary reached for his phone, dialing the phone number printed on the inside of the file folder. Like this file, he knew of the people he was calling, but he'd hoped to never have to make this call. He didn't have to wait long for someone to answer.

"General Coulson, how long will it take you to get to my office?"

The SecDef paused, listening to the response.

"Yes, this is urgent! We have a problem in Sunnydale."

#### oOoOo

General Coulson arrived and was quickly ushered into the SecDef's office. He took the seat offered by the Secretary.

"Sir, I rushed over here as fast as I could. What's the problem with Sunnydale?"

This was the SecDef's first meeting with General Coulson, but the General's reputation and mission reports preceded him. He studied the General as he talked, "You're aware of the event that occurred near the moon?"

Coulson realized the SecDef was studying him. He didn't blink, giving the SecDef a perfect poker face, "Does this have anything to do with why we're now at DEFCON 3?"

The SecDef snorted at how well his people were keeping the defense alert condition quiet. Despite that, the General's ability to access information impressed him, "There's something going on by the moon. We've detected an object hanging around out there. We have no idea who or what they are and why they're there."

Coulson was glad that the SecDef didn't question him about his sources. He'd only known about the change to DEFCON 3, nothing about anything going on around the moon. His guts churned as he maintained his poker face, "Aliens?"

The SecDef shrugged, "Anything's possible. I'm not willing to take any chances."

"What's the connection to Sunnydale?"

"We've found debris from an unknown craft in the region. We also received an anonymous phone call reporting something coming down near Sunnydale."

Coulson considered the information and the situation, "Anonymous phone call? It doesn't sound right, sir."

The SecDef nodded, "Agreed. We've traced the call to the Sunnydale area. The report has the caller as a male, speaking English with a slight Southern accent."

There was a pause as the SecDef considered the General, "How long will it take for you to put together and send a team into Sunnydale to investigate?"

"Normally, I would say twenty-four hours to send a team in and assess the threat. With this involving Sunnydale and the circumstances involved, I'll need a little longer."

"Why?"

"One of my agents has first-hand knowledge of the area and knows all the principals involved… including _her_. He's currently on a mission in South America. I'll need time to recall him, assemble a team and bring him up to speed."

The SecDef again considered the General who sat there only giving him a perfect poker face. Time was of the essence to keep this situation from getting out of hand, especially with it involving Sunnydale. He didn't see himself having much choice in the matter.

"General, I want this situation compartmentalized and contained. Do not inform your people of our current defense condition and what's going on around the moon. You have forty-eight hours to get in there, find out what the hell is happening, and report back."

Coulson betrayed no emotions about the conditions the SecDef was placing on him and his people, "Understood, sir," he replied, nodding in understanding.

"General, I want this situation contained and kept a low profile. I don't want another Initiative debacle taking place under my watch! Understood?"

"Yes, sir. We'll contain the situation. If required we will neutralize any threat."

#### oOoOo

"Captain, you sent for me?"

Coleiro turned around towards the familiar voice. The familiar figure of Chief Petty Officer Rachel Larson standing at a parade rest with a small smirk on her face, greeted him. The Captain couldn't help himself as a small smile flashed on his face in response to the Chief.

They'd known each other for at least twenty years, ever since he'd come aboard the SDF-3 before the mission to the Robotech Masters' homeworld. Despite the years and pressures, the Chief had aged well, still cutting a lean, trim figure.

This triggered memories of his first meeting with Larson. He'd been a brash young pilot that looked at every woman as an opportunity to use his boyish charms on. She'd been one of the few women who seemed immune to his charms, sending him crashing and burning.

Despite his failed attempt, Coleiro didn't let it upset him. He quickly realized the Chief's value as a mechanic. She was one of the few people experienced with every craft used by the REF. She could take apart and reassemble any ship with her eyes closed.

They'd served together in Skull Squadron, where she became his crew chief, maintaining his fighter. When he took command and rebuilt the Grim Reapers, Rachel followed him, overseeing the squadron's support and maintenance crews. Even with her increased duties and responsibilities, she still oversaw and performed the daily maintenance on his fighter.

Over the years, their work relationship evolved into a tight friendship. She was one of his closest friends… in fact, she was one of his few friends still alive.

The Captain considered Larson more like family. She acted in a motherly role, worrying and taking care of him… especially when he didn't take care of himself. He valued her thoughts and opinions because she spoke her mind and didn't hold back from telling him what he needed to hear.

"Yeah, Chief. I need your expert advice."

"No problem, sir. Is this regarding our downed pilot?"

Coleiro snorted, still smiling, "As usual, nothing gets past you, Chief."

"That's why I get paid the big bucks, sir. What's the question?" she said, smirking.

The Captain's smile faded as his thoughts turned to more important matters, "Docking an Alpha with a Horizont in atmosphere… what's the best altitude and speed? How long to accomplish it?"

The Chief moved past the Captain, leaning against the command table, studying the holographic images of the Earth, moon and Arcadia as she considered his question.

"Well, you'll have to maintain a stable speed. Preferably, you want to avoid any turbulence. Low and slow is best… about 13,000 meters, no faster than 800 kph. For best time for docking… the best I've ever heard was just under two minutes. That was from starting approach to cockpit secured and sealed inside the docking bay, and that was under optimal training conditions."

Larson studied the Captain, getting a bad feeling as his face took on a grim, serious look.

"Could we dock an Alpha at… say 24,000 meters, going Mach 1?"

Larson's eyes widen in surprise at his question, taking a hard long look at the Captain, "Sir, when's the last time you got any sleep?"

Coleiro laughed, noting Larson's concern, "I'm serious, Chief."

"So am I."

Coleiro shook his head, "I'll grab some shut-eye after this, but I need to know if it's possible."

Larson sighed, shaking her head, "You'll be almost at the Alpha's operational ceiling in atmosphere. At those speeds, and if the Horizont pilot and Alpha pilot keep their nerve…"

Coleiro laughed at the statement.

Larson smiled, but it faded as she continued, "It's possible, but it will be tricky. If you try to rush it and make a mistake… at those speeds you'll both end up as fireballs. They'll be picking you up with tweezers."

Larson watched as the Captain considered her comments, "Sir, can I suggestion."

"Go ahead, Chief."

"Why all the big production? Take an Alpha with an attached Beta module. Do a combat re-entry, land, pick up the pilot, stick her in the Beta and blast back into orbit. You're in and out, quick and fast. With a Beta attached, an Alpha can easily reach and break orbit."

Coleiro sighed, "I considered that, Chief. The problem is, we don't know the pilot's condition. If she requires medical attention, I won't be able to do it myself. Plus, there is the problem of securing an LZ if I have to get out."

"All this for one pilot…" Larson muttered, shaking her head.

"Rachel… I wouldn't do this if there was another way. You know I won't leave any of our people behind."

Larson nodded. She understood how serious he was about not leaving anyone behind.

"You want me to prep your fighter?"

Coleiro shook his head, "Prep one of the spare Alphas. My Shadow fighter is the only one we've got, and I don't want to risk it on this mission. The Alpha's countermeasures and defensive systems are more than adequate for what we'll be facing…"

The serious look on his face faded as a grin replaced it, "Besides, I have a little surprise for the locals. That should buy us all the time we need and keep them from detecting us."

Out of reflex, Larson mirrored his grin as she shook her head. She realized that whatever the Captain was planning, it would be something wild and unexpected for the people down on the planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	10. Death is coming

## CHAPTER TEN  
Death is coming

" _I knew Paul's father when he flew with Skull Squadron off the SDF-1. Both were outstanding fighter pilots, but Paul was in a different category by himself. If I had to describe him as a fighter pilot in one word, it would be 'hunter'. Whether it was a conscious or sub-conscious reflex, he could see and anticipate what the enemy would do. This sometimes carried over into how Paul interacted with other people… especially women when he was younger. Despite his reputation and troubles, if you were walking into the valley of death, you would definitely want Paul Coleiro by your side._ "

— Rachel Larson

#### oOoOo

Captain Coleiro was a man on a mission as he strode into the briefing room. The assembled personnel jumped to attention as he took his place at the front of the room, assuming a parade rest stance.

"At ease. Take your seats."

The Captain waited until everyone sat back down before starting, "I hope everyone's rested up?" he said, giving the room a smile. Paul noticed Chief Larson, sitting in the corner, shaking her head, giving him a slight disapproving frown.

He brushed it off, continuing on, "Alright, the codename for this mission is ' _Operation Winter Storm'_. As you're all aware, we've picked up a distress beacon from one of our pilots down on the planet. Even though this is Earth, we must consider it hostile territory. There's a high chance we'll encounter opposition from planetary military forces and the local population. Normally, we'd run a rescue operation like this as a hard snatch-and-grab with a squadron of Alpha and Betas fighters providing air cover. Because of our current situation, we don't have that luxury of resources, so we need to adapt our strategy."

One of the crewman raised his hand.

"Yes, you have a question?"

"Yes, sir. Do we know what kind of opposition we'll be facing?"

"We've been gathering intel on the planet, but we still only have a limited understanding of this planet's military capabilities."

Coleiro saw the eye rolls and heard a few groans. He understood their anxiety as he shook his head, "Yeah, I know. In a perfect world, we'd establish our opposition's capabilities and intentions before going in. Like I said, we don't have those luxuries or a lot of options. From what we've observed, so far, and using our Earth's history to draw from, I think we can get a decent picture of what we'll be facing."

"Our downed pilot, Lieutenant Cassidy Evans, appears to be somewhere in the Western part of North America," again more sighs and groans erupted. A grim smirk flashed on his face, "Yes, I realize we don't have an exact location on our pilot… yet. Despite this gap in our knowledge, this doesn't prevent us from preparing and getting into position when we re-establish contact with her."

A holographic image of the planet appeared by the Captain's side. The shimmering image displayed the North American continent for the assembled personnel to see.

"There's an AWACS shuttle already in orbit gathering intel on the defensive systems in use on that part of the planet. The shuttle is also in close position to get a get a lock on the Lieutenant's emergency beacon when she tries to communicate with us again."

Another hand went up, "Sir, why didn't she leave her beacon on?"

Coleiro shook his head, "I don't know. She may have had to move her position… the battery could be low, or she's trying to boost the signal. She doesn't know our status other than we're out here. Whatever is happening planet side won't stop us from getting into position to retrieve the Lieutenant when she contacts us."

Coleiro glanced around the room, he noted crew nodding in agreement.

"This operation is in two phases… the space-air and the ground phase. The space-air phase will comprise one Horizont drop ship, designated Pelican-One, three EC-32 Eyrie shuttles including the one already on station, designated Watchers-One through Three. Then there will be myself in an Alpha," the Captain pressed a command on the holographic projector remote control. Small holographic images representing the ships appeared in relative positions to the planet.

"Watcher-One will gather and feed real-time data of all detection and communication systems in use on the North American continent. The rest of the mission force will launch, making a slow low profile approach towards the planet to minimize any chances of detection. My Alpha will dock to Pelican-One until we get close to the planet. Once we get close to the planet, Watchers-Two and Three will break off to assume geosynchronous orbits over the North American continent. They'll be in electronic warfare mode configuration. Their job is to jam and disrupt all detection and communication systems across the continent."

As the Captain spoke, the holographic images of the ships moved to assume positions in orbit around the planet. He noted the looks of surprise on the assembled faces at what he was planning.

"Yes, I realize that's asking a lot from only two shuttles, but we have the tech advantage. We should be able to jam and disrupt their systems long enough to create a window for Pelican-One and myself to enter the planet's atmosphere without being detected."

Another hand, this time from one of the shuttle pilots.

"Yes, go ahead."

"Sir, they may not see you on radar, but they'll probably see the re-entry tracks from the Horizont and your fighter. They could still vector interceptors on you."

Coleiro nodded, "That's a risk, but the jamming should degrade their ability to co-ordinate their defenses and responses…"

The Captain showed no doubts the jamming would have the desired effect and impact, even though this was a big "if". His plan was to keep the people on the planet too busy to notice him and the dropship.

"Chief Larson will rig up Watchers-Two and Three to each carry a loadout of six target drones. At predetermined positions, they will each launch a pair of the target drones to re-enter the atmosphere over the continent at different points. This will make them think a much larger force is entering the atmosphere, and they won't recognize our true destination… once we know where that is," Coleiro paused.

"Once we've re-entered the atmosphere and landed, comes the second phase of the operation. Pelican-One, besides its three-man crew, will carry a ten-man security detail with an attached medic, outfitted as Cyclone infantry to secure the LZ during recovery. Sergeant Bronowski will lead the security detail. If Lieutenant Evans is not at the LZ when we land, I will land and use my Cyclone to contact and retrieve the Lieutenant."

The Captain noted the looks being exchanged. He understood their concern.

"Yes, I realize it's a risk. I want to minimize how long we're flying in the atmosphere. From the intel gathered on their warning and detection systems, I estimate we'll be able to cause havoc for about two to three hours. After that, they'll probably figure a way to counter or burn through the jamming. We need to maintain as low a profile as possible during this blackout window. Sending in one person to retrieve the Lieutenant will minimize interaction with the local population."

Sergeant Bronowski spoke up, "Sir, maybe I should do the pickup?"

Coleiro shook his head, "No Sergeant. I need you securing the LZ. You'll also be my backup in case I need it. If things go sideways, Pelican-One can do a fast take off and orbital insertion… I would rather have only one person at risk."

The Sergeant didn't look happy, but he accepted his role, "Sir, are we authorized to use force?"

Coleiro didn't blink or hesitate, "This is Earth and we don't want to start a war with them, but like I said earlier, consider this hostile territory. I'm authorizing you to defend yourselves accordingly against any aggressive act," a grin flashed on his face, "just try to minimize any casualties among the local population."

This brought a few chuckles from the assembled crew.

He continued on, "Once we've recovered the Lieutenant and everyone is back aboard, Pelican-One will take off followed by myself. Pelican-One will apply thrusters and go to 24,000 meters and hold there. I will rendezvous and dock my Alpha. After docking, we'll go for an orbital insertion and return to the Arcadia."

The Captain noted the stunned looks from the shuttle crews. They understood what he would attempt, "Yes, I recognize that no one has tried to do a mating sequence at that altitude. It won't be any easier with us doing this at Mach One," he let this information settle in.

The look on his face turned serious and grim, "With that being said, I'm only allowing a five minute window for us to attempt docking. I will not have the dropship and its crew stay in atmosphere any longer than necessary and increase their exposure and risk. If I can't dock in the five minute window, the Horizont will apply full thrusters for orbital insertion to return to the ship."

Stunned silence descended on the briefing room. Mutters and grumbling broke the silence, Coleiro held up his hands, "Yes, like I said there is a risk. This isn't how we would normally conduct a Search and Rescue mission, but then we're not dealing with normal times or a normal situation here…"

Coleiro paused as he looked around the room at each person. He understood it was anathema to the crew to leave anyone behind… especially their Captain.

"If I fail to dock or if something goes wrong at the LZ, our rally point is the coordinates for Monument City. Our scans show it is an isolated location on this Earth. It will give us a place to regroup and contact Arcadia to plan for retrieval."

The Captain's face showed nothing but confidence as his words sank in, "Ladies and Gentlemen, there's a lot that can go wrong on this mission. Yes, there's a lot of risk, but that's the line of work we're in."

This broke the tension as some smiles flashed and chuckles flowed through the room.

The Captain flashed a grin, "I have the utmost confidence in all of you to perform your duties! We will bring our pilot back home! Everyone review your individual mission packets… we'll be going wheels up in two hours. Dismissed!"

The crew stood to attention as the Captain left the room.

#### oOoOo

The sun was just breaking the dawn sky when a large group of people exited the house on to a quiet empty street. Exhaustion hung over everyone, but the news that Cassie's people were out there gave them the motivation to overcome their tiredness.

Not everyone was heading out. Anya was still in a fragile state, so Dawn, several of the younger Potentials and those with injuries stayed behind. They couldn't afford to bring anyone who might slow them down. Because they were going outside during the day, this also meant that Spike was staying behind too. He wasn't happy about it, but he had no choice. Besides, if things turned bad, everyone would try to make it back to the house.

The group broke into smaller groups… Xander, Giles, Robin with several Potentials headed off to scrounge up diesel fuel. While Buffy, Faith, Cassie, Willow, Andrew and the rest headed off to the nearest radio station.

They'd decided on the radio station where they would try hooking up Cassie's emergency beacon to. There were several radio stations closer than where they were heading, but those stations were FM only broadcast stations. The plan was to go for the AM radio station. Their transmitters broadcast longer ranges compared to FM. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was all they had to work with and the clock was ticking.

Because of a lack of vehicles, the group was walking to the radio station. This gave everyone time to mingle and talk as they walked. Even with it being daylight, Buffy, Faith and Cassie were on guard for any threats.

Faith studied the empty streets along with the abandoned houses and buildings. The eerie silence hanging over everything struck her hard. There were no sounds… not even birds. The only sound came from the light blowing wind that mixed with the crunching of the ground underneath their feet. The only sign of life in Sunnydale were their own voices as people talked as they walked.

Cassie moved up beside Faith, catching her by surprise. There was a moment of awkward silence as the two women walked together. Faith glanced at Cassie, giving her the once over. A small smile broke on her face, seeing how Cassie seemed to be taking to her old clothes.

"What you smiling about?" Cassie said, catching Faith looking her over.

Faith laughed, shrugging, "Never figured you for the tight shirt and leather pants crowd."

Cassie raised a questioning eyebrow, "Why would you think that?"

"You being military and all that."

Cassie laughed.

Cassie's response caught Faith by surprise, "What's so funny?"

"You thinking I'm just a dull square by the rules soldier…"

"Well, you're a soldier."

"You don't think purple is my natural hair color, do you?"

"S-Sorry, I assumed it was," Faith said, but then laughed as the realization hit her.

"Never pictured you as the rebel-type," Faith said as a smile broke her face.

Cassie smiled, matching the Slayer's smile, "The REF has its military standards and protocols, but I can have any hair color I want. I could even have longer hair, but it's more comfortable wearing my helmet with it cut short. Plus, I got…" she paused, her smiling fading as she recalled the memory of the Vanguard blowing up, "I had some civilian one-piece outfits that are… were tighter."

Faith saw she'd touched a nerve. She cursed herself for putting her foot in her mouth… again, "Sorry if I said something wrong… I-I got a knack for doing that."

Cassie saw the look on the other woman's face, "No, it's okay. It's not you… I was just remembering," she said, adding a smile to reassure Faith.

A long, uncomfortable silence descended between the two women. Cassie finally worked up the courage to ask Faith the question nagging at her.

"Faith… I… um… heard people talking around the house. Some people say you and Xander… um… had… um… that you two have been together."

Faith couldn't help cracking a smile at Cassie's obvious discomfort, "You're wondering if me and Xander have done the mattress mambo, some horizontal dancing?"

"Yes… sex," muttered Cassie, trying to contain her embarrassment.

Another moment of uncomfortable silence passed before Cassie spoke, "I already caused problems with Anya. I don't want to cause any more problems."

Faith liked Cassie. She saw a kindred spirit in the other woman. That Cassie didn't seem to hold any grudges or have any preconceived notions about her made it easy to get along. She wanted to make her feel better. Faith shook her head, "There's nothing going on between me and Xander. We did our little ships bump in the night encounter years ago and nothing since then. It meant more to him than me," she said, shrugging.

She saw the look on Cassie's face, "Don't worry about Anya and Xander. She got her emotions and mind scrambled over easy by The First. Things will work themselves out or we'll all die," she added, smirking.

"You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Cassie said, shaking her head.

Faith laughed, "When you're a Slayer, you take the moments as they come. So, you got a little thing for the Xanderman?"

Cassie blushed, "I-I like him. He's different from other guys I've known."

"So, you've been with a lot of guys?" Faith realized she'd put her foot in her mouth as soon as the question left her mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so blunt."

Cassie blushed again, which Faith found strange for someone in the military and a fighter pilot.

Cassie didn't know what to say. Sex talk was part of the normal barracks banter, but talking or joking about it was one thing, but discussing your own sex life was another matter. It wasn't like she had any real close friends around to confide in. Faith reminded her of the other soldiers she'd spent her life around. It was obvious she'd seen a lot. With no else around, it seemed easier to talk to her, "I-I've never had… um… been to bed with a guy," she whispered.

Faith resisted the impulse to say something sarcastic, seeing Cassie's obvious embarrassment. It felt strange to have someone confide in you and seek your guidance. She took a moment to gather her thoughts to give Cassie a proper response, "You've got nothing to be sorry about! Liking Xander isn't a terrible choice. He isn't that bad of a guy, and I should know… I've seen and had my share! You don't have to make the same mistakes like I did," she said, shrugging.

Cassie was thinking over what Faith said when Buffy joined them, "Whatcha guys talking about?"

Before Cassie could say anything, Faith spoke up, "We're talking about guys. You know, love… sex… a lot of deep shit here."

Buffy shook her head at Faith's colorful use of language, "Oh please, I don't want to go there!" she groaned. Flashbacks of all her bad relationships came rushing back.

Faith couldn't resist the urge to needle Buffy, "What? You don't want to share your deep pool of knowledge and experience with Cassie," she said, giving Buffy a grin.

Buffy resisted the urge to use some colorful language of her own, but settled on giving Faith a glare. Faith laughed, knowing she'd scored a point on her fellow Slayer. A moment of quiet descended on the three women as they continued walking.

Buffy broke the quiet, "Cassie, this plan of yours… will it work? Will your people come here?"

Cassie didn't hesitate, "Yes… yes, they will."

Faith noted the expression on Cassie's face. In that moment, she could almost believe they had a chance.

#### oOoOo

Coleiro entered the hanger bay, wearing his CVR-3 body armor, carrying his helmet in his hand. He was making his way to a group of Alphas lined up along the hanger bay. He hadn't gotten far when a voice caught his attention.

"Going somewhere, Captain?"

Coleiro stopped, turning towards the voice, "You know where I'm headed, Chief."

He was a little surprised when Chief Larson shook her head, a grin plastered across her face.

"No, sir. You don't want to use any of those ships. I've got your ship waiting over by Launch Bay-Two."

The Captain was a little puzzled, but he followed Larson, "I found this old crate sitting around gathering dust. I thought for a crazy mission like this, you'd need her," she said as they approached the launch bay.

Coleiro froze in his tracks seeing his old Alpha sitting looking primed and ready to go. He'd given up the fighter when the squadron got re-equipped with the new Shadow fighters. His throat tightened as he gazed on the fighter he'd flown for years, taking in the plane's sleek lines.

The non-standard colors used on the plane made it stand out even more. They'd been a source of constant friction as he argued with his superiors over the fighter's "unique" color scheme. His eyes ended on the vertical tail stabilizers and the detailed graphic image of a Grim Reaper holding a scythe with flames surrounding him, adorning them.

Coleiro stammered out, "H-How?"

Larson's grin turned into a smile, "This old bird still has life in it. I've spent as much time, if not more, servicing her as you've spent flying her. I didn't want to see her broken up, so I called in a few favors and had her stored aboard before we left Tirol."

Coleiro moved closer to the nose of the plane, running his hand over the ship. His hand stopped as they reached the name written in small letters across the fuselage just below the cockpit. His eyes locked on the name… _Sonia_. Time fell away as memories filled his head of a beautiful young woman with short blonde hair who always had a smile for him. That memory faded, replaced by the memory of pulling her burnt, broken and bleeding body from the shattered remains of her fighter, cut down by Invid annihilation discs.

Chief Larson studied the Captain, her smile fading as she recognized the pain he was reliving as he ran his hand over the name. A part of her wished she hadn't brought the fighter aboard, but that ship was as much a part of him as his own skin. It was his good luck charm, bringing him home from too many missions where he should have died. With what they were about to attempt, he would need all the luck he could get with this mission.

She stood back as the Captain did his pre-flight walk around the fighter, checking it out. He moved back to the Chief after finishing his check.

"Thanks Rachel… I mean it," Coleiro said, trying to not let his emotions get the better of him.

"Yes, sir," she replied, keeping her own emotions in check, "You watch yourself out there."

"Always do, Chief," he replied, giving her a charming boyish smile.

The Captain's smile surprised her, bringing a grin to her face. She rarely saw the Captain smile like that anymore. It made him seem more alive. He seemed less burdened by the pressures of command and the weight of emotional baggage he always carried. It was also one of his notorious trademarks from his youth, using it effectively in his pursuits of the opposite sex.

Her grin faded as the Captain put on his helmet, and in place of his face she stared at a huge skull covering the full-tinted helmet visor. This was another of the Captain's trademarks he'd started after joining Skull Squadron. Everyone in the REF had either seen or heard of his trademark helmet.

Even after all these years, Larson still got a chill when seeing him like this. He was now Reaper-One, and wherever he went, death was always close behind. Larson stepped back as the Captain climb into his fighter and started the engines. The roar of the Alpha's Pratt & Whitney turbines filled the hanger bay as the fighter taxied to prepare for launch.

Everything went without a hitch, and Coleiro rendezvoused with the rest of the rescue mission ships, docking with the dropship. The Horizont along with Watchers-Two and Three increased power to their engines, setting their flight path towards Earth. After an hour, the ships cut their engines, using their momentum to keep them headed to the planet, presenting a low energy and heat profile.

#### oOoOo

Cassie and the others reached the radio station. Buffy, Faith and Cassie led the way in as they checked out the deserted building. A quick check of the backup generators confirmed their fears… they were out of fuel. They still had to wait for the other group to arrive with fuel, but that didn't deter Cassie, Willow and Andrew. They got to work, scrounging through the broadcast room, looking for equipment they could use with the emergency beacon.

Their rummaging through the control and storage rooms for cables resulted in an enormous pile of cables spread across a table in the broadcast room. They worked sorting the cables, looking for potential candidates to test with the beacon.

"This would be easier if we could open the beacon," Andrew mused, as his eyes glazed over from checking through the pile of cables.

Cassie sighed, "That's Plan B if we can't find a cable. I would rather avoid having to mess around doing something like that."

Two hours passed by before Xander and his groups showed up to the station, hefting large jerry cans of fuel in from the vehicles. It took some coaxing, even after refueling, to bring the generators back to life. After a few false starts, the generators caught and the constant hum brought power back to the station. Parts of the station were still on emergency lighting, but the station's transmitter was coming back online.

Xander wandered into the broadcast room and watched as Cassie, Willow and Andrew checked cables, and discarded them, "So how's it going?"

Willow sighed, "So far, no luck. The ends are the wrong size or shape."

Xander tried not to dwell on how much daylight they had left, "So what now?"

Cassie added her own sigh, "Time for Plan B… we'll open the beacon and try soldering a cable end into the interface port."

"Won't you damage the beacon… maybe break it?" Xander said.

Cassie's face was grim as she shook her head, "It's not what I want to do, but I don't think we have much of a choice."

"I think I saw a soldering iron! I'll go grab it!" Andrew said, heading for the door as his enthusiasm took over.

Xander stopped him before he left, "Make sure you take someone with you. This is a pretty big place, and it's still dark in most of the building, even with the generators running."

Andrew nodded before bounding out of the room and down the hall.

#### oOoOo

Andrew convinced two of the Potentials to tag along with him as he retraced his steps, trying to remember where he'd seen the soldering iron.

As they searched, Andrew's thoughts drifted about everything he'd done and how he'd gotten to this point in his life. He'd made a lot of bad decisions… murdering Jonathan being the lowest point, but he was trying to make amends for everything.

It was exciting to find out there were spaceships and aliens out there. They might not be from this dimension, but this was still like finding out Santa was real and he was inviting you to ride in his sleigh. The excitement faded as he thought of Jonathan again. He knew if his friend was still alive, he would throw himself into helping. Andrew even wished Warren was still alive… he was much better at electronics, and would probably already have the beacon connected and running.

A voice behind him interrupted thoughts of Warren, Jonathan and 'what if', "This going to take much longer?"

Andrew turned to the impatient Potential… Tamara, "I'm sure it's in one of these rooms."

"You said that four rooms ago," came another impatient voice, belonging to another Potential… Sharon.

"Well, we need to keep looking until we find it," Andrew replied, continuing his search through the shelf, moving and going through boxes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but this place gives me the creeps," Tamara said. The emergency lighting was giving the whole place an eerie feeling that was creeping her out.

Andrew didn't disagree as each dark room they entered caused his heart to beat faster.

Sharon and Tamara stood by storage room door. They'd tired of searching and only doing casual glances around the rooms now, letting Andrew do the real searching. They nervously glanced around as every creak and movement seemed to echo and reverberate down the darkened hallways.

Tamara leaned in, whispering to Sharon, "I'll be right back…"

Tamara's burst of courage surprised Sharon, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm thirsty. There's a vending machine at the end of the hall."

"You realize that it's not working. The pop will be gross," Sharon replied, shaking her head.

"They have bottled water in there too," Tamara replied, sounding a little put off.

Sharon sighed, "Okay, don't be long… grab me a bottle too."

Tamara stuck out her tongue as she headed towards the vending machine. Sharon watched as her friend became a darkened outline in the hallway. She jumped as Tamara banged on the vending machine, trying to open it.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Sharon muttered, shaking her head as Tamara now added swearing to her trying to get at the drinks inside the vending machine. Her attention drifted back to Andrew as he continued rummaging through boxes in the storage room. Tamara's banging and swearing faded as something on one of the lower shelves caught her attention. She stepped into the room and bent down to retrieve the object.

Sharon held the soldering iron in front of Andrew, "Is this what you're looking for?"

Andrew sighed, "Yeah… I must have missed it," he said, glad that Sharon couldn't see his embarrassment as he took the soldering iron from her.

"Come on, let's get back to the others!" Sharon said as she led the way out of the storage room back into the hallway.

It took a moment, but she realized she wasn't hearing Tamara banging or swearing down the hall. She squinted and thought she could make out the other woman in the shadows, coming closer.

"Tamara, were you able to get any water?"

There was no response as Tamara closed the distance to them.

"Something's not right…" Andrew muttered as a chill ran down his spine.

Sharon didn't argue as she got her own icy chill crawling up her back. Something was definitely wrong… Tamara seemed to be taller and moving strangely. That's when the light caught Tamara's lifeless face.

The moment froze for Sharon and Andrew as Tamara's body came further into the light. The huge sword blade protruding from her chest, dripping with blood, drew their eyes to it. Fear filled them as their gaze moved from the sword to the man standing behind Tamara's body, holding the sword.

Their hearts raced seeing the familiar black clothing and the priest's collar. The man's face gave them a malevolent and spiteful look as he carried the young woman's body like it was a piece of meat, leaving a bloody trail.

A grisly twisted smile flashed on the man's face as his southern-tinged accent filled the hallway, "They say Rock n' Roll is the devil's music! Well, I say let the music play!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	11. Going from bad to worse

## CHAPTER ELEVEN  
Going from bad to worse

" ** _Turok-Han_** _{also referred to as Ubervamp by the former residents of Sunnydale} are an ancient powerful race of vampires. They differ from regular vampires enough for classification as a separate sub-species. These vampires are extremely dangerous, with immense strength and fast reflexes. While there have been no confirmed sightings of these vampires since the sealing of the Sunnydale Hellmouth, all personnel should familiarize themselves with these creatures' profile and attack patterns._ "

— Excerpt from Alliance briefing guide for Special Operations Teams

#### oOoOo

Coleiro sat in the command cabin of the dropship, with a communications headset on, conferencing in with all the ships of the rescue force.

The commander of Watcher-One was providing an update on what they'd discovered about the communication and detection systems used on Earth. As he listened to the update, Coleiro felt the oncoming twinge of a headache as exhaustion pulled at him.

Watcher-One reported not only was there a huge military communications and radar network encompassing the continent, but also a huge civilian network too. This caught the Captain by surprise, and he chided himself for not having considered the possibility.

He realized he was still thinking in terms of his Earth and Tirol, which only had a fraction of the population size this Earth had. In his universe, the military controlled most of the communication networks.

If he jammed the military communication and radar networks, he would also take out the civilian networks. He understood the havoc this would raise along with the lives put at risk if he went ahead with his plans to darken the North American continent.

_God, I wish April was here… She would've come up with a better plan,_ he thought, rubbing his eyes with his hands, trying to push back the growing headache.

The signs of a hastily thrown together mission were showing. He knew he couldn't make things up on the fly like he did when flying his fighter.

Despite his wishing that Commodore Lau was here, he was the one in command and it was his decision and responsibility. There were lives at stake, and he needed to find a balance between protecting his people and not causing unnecessary injuries and deaths.

Sonia's voice echoed in his thoughts, chiding him at acting like a first year academy plebe instead of the veteran commander he was. Memories of her came rushing back and a lifetime of weariness weighed on him.

_I'm tired… I'm tired of it all. Why am I doing this? I can't save them all. The Chief is right… I need a rest…_

Again, Sonia's voice echoed in his thoughts, _You're better than this! You're in command… you're responsible for these people! You can't just go blasting around the stars acting like you're still twenty with no cares or worries. This is your plan… You always find a way…_

He took a deep breath, trying to keep the old pain behind the wall he'd built up over the years. It took a moment, but he cleared his mind to focus on the problem they faced. He keyed his headset, "Watcher-One, can you sort out and identify the military and civilian bands for both communications and radar?"

There was a pause before Watcher-One responded, _"It's possible for voice communications. It will take at least an hour for the computer to identify and catalog all the frequencies. We should be able to blanket the military-only channels. The only problem is the military could switchover and use the civilian channels. The result would be a faster response recovery."_

"Understood. What about their radar?"

_"_ _That's a problem. From the data we've gathered, the military and civilian radars use a lot of the same frequency bands… it may be an all or nothing."_

Coleiro suppressed a sigh as he considered his options, "Watcher-Two… Three, you copying all this?"

_"_ _Yes, sir,"_ came the replies from the commanders of the other shuttles.

"Okay, the plan now is for Watcher-One to sort out and identify all military and civilian communication channels and frequencies. We will still go with a full jam on the military channels and leave civilian communications alone… for now."

Watcher-Two replied, _"What about radar?"_

Coleiro recognized the risk he was taking, but they needed to recover their pilot, "We have no choice. We still have to take out their radar, hopefully we can minimize any impact by leaving the civilian communication channels up. Watcher's Two and Three, before I undock from Pelican-One and we begin our jamming, you will launch your drones to enter the atmosphere. They should easily pick up the drones, and when we hit them with the jamming that should confuse them more. Their focus should be on the drones and with that confusion it should buy Pelican-One and myself time to enter the atmosphere unobserved. Questions?"

The commanders of all three shuttles responded, _"No, sir."_

"Okay, Watcher-One get to work! Co-ordinate your work with Watcher-Two and Three."

Coleiro conferred with the dropship pilot, "Our ETA to the launch point is six hours and forty-five minutes at our current speed. We'll continue at current speed and heading to minimize our signature profile. Watcher-One, I want an update on your status in two hours."

_"_ _Understood, sir."_

Now with time to kill, Coleiro decided getting rest before the mission was important. He headed to the dropship's Cyclone infantry bay, crawling into a rack, and closed his eyes. Rest seemed elusive as a whirlwind of thoughts filled his head as he tried to anticipate the next problem and how to fix it. Those worries mixed with memories of Sonia as he tried settling down, yet one nagging thought kept coming back to haunt him.

_I hope I'm not starting a war with Earth…_

#### oOoOo

A bone chilling screamed filled the hallways. Cassie didn't think as she grabbed her Gallant and raced out into the hallway with Buffy and Faith joining her. Giles, Xander, Robin and the rest of the group came following on their heels. Cassie's gut was churning, seeing Buffy and Faith looking anxiously in all directions for any threats. From reading their faces, she realized things were bad.

Giles did a quick head count, "Who's missing?"

"I don't see Andrew," Xander said.

"Tamara and Sharon aren't here either!" someone added.

Buffy's instincts were screaming warnings. The last thing she wanted was everyone milling around, "Giles… you, Xander and Robin take everyone outside!"

Xander was about to argue when a noise coming from down the dark hallway caught everyone's attention. Cassie dropped into a firing stance with her Gallant, which was in rifle mode, up against her shoulder, aimed down the hallway. Her heart pounded as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

A scuffling noise grew louder, and Cassie's finger tightened on her weapon's trigger in anticipation.

"CASSIE, DON'T SHOOT!" Buffy shouted.

Cassie's finger dropped from the trigger as her eyes widen in shock. Out of the darkness, Andrew stumbled towards them, covered in blood. He staggered a few more feet before falling to the floor. Buffy and Faith rushed forward to pull him to safety with Cassie covering them.

Buffy propped Andrew against the wall, checking him for injuries, "Where're you hurt?"

Andrew didn't say a word as his body shook uncontrollably. His eyes popped wide open in fear, staring off into nothingness.

"Come on! Snap out of it! Where're you hurt?" Buffy demanded, trying to get Andrew to focus on her as she continued checking for wounds.

"Buffy… I don't think it's his blood," Xander whispered.

As the realization sank in, Buffy didn't want to ask, but she had to, "Where are the others? Who did this?"

Andrew's body continued trembling out of control as he continued staring past everyone. Buffy didn't have time to waste and slapped him to get him to focus. It took a moment, but his eyes snapped back, locking on to Buffy as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"Andrew, where are the others? Who did this?" Buffy said, trying to get him to focus on her. It took another moment, but he pulled himself together enough to put words together.

"T-T-Tamara…"

"Yeah, Tamara and Sharon?"

"D-D-Dead…"

The news that two more Potentials were dead hit Buffy hard, "Who did it?"

Andrew was trying to fight through the shock and terror of what he'd witnessed. A part of him realized that Caleb let him live, but that didn't lessen the horror of what happened to Sharon. He tried to tell his body to stop shaking, but the images kept hammering him. He knew the human body held a lot of blood from when he'd murdered Jonathan. What Caleb did to Tamara's body and to Sharon was out of his worst nightmares.

He tried to push the nightmarish images from his head to tell Buffy what happened. But it was hard as a voice in his head kept telling him to curl up into a ball and just give up. It was Buffy's voice that pulled him back from the edge.

"C-C-Caleb…" he stuttered out.

At the mention of that name, Buffy's worse fears were coming true. She wasted no more time, turning to Xander and Giles, "Get him and the others out of here now! Get everyone back to the house!" Buffy glanced over at Faith and Cassie, who were still covering the hallway with her weapon, "Faith, Cassie and I will cover you. We still have enough daylight to get home."

"Buffy—" Xander said, but she cut him off.

"Don't argue! Get moving!" she ordered in a hard voice.

Xander glanced over at Cassie and was deciding whether to argue more when a loud voice from the darkness echoed down the hallway. His dead eye socket ached as he recognized the voice.

"Don't rush off on my account. We're just getting started and it would be a shame for you all to leave. Your new friend interests my associates. They're wondering if her blood looks and tastes the same as yours."

Buffy slapped Xander on the shoulder to snap him back, "Get everyone moving now!" she ordered. Xander and the others scurried towards the doors and the safety of daylight. Buffy stood up and moved to join Faith and Cassie, forming a roadblock between the darkness and the others hurrying to the exits.

Cassie pushed the taunting voice from her head, concentrating on her breathing and training. Images of a blood-covered Andrew mingled with the taunts as she fought back the growing tendrils of fear and panic. The temptation to open fire and spray the hallway was great, but with only one spare energy magazine for the Gallant in rifle mode, she had to pick her targets.

The sounds of feet hurrying towards the exits reinforced the importance they hold back whatever was in the darkness. Buffy and Faith taking up positions beside her further bolstered her courage. She turned her focus on the dark hallway, scanning the shadows for any movement. She couldn't see anything, but she heard noises… like low growls, coming from the darkness, and it was getting closer.

_Damn it! We needed more time!_

The sudden realization hit her like a hammer, _Damn it! The beacon!_

In all the excitement, they'd left the emergency beacon on the table in the control room. Neither she nor the Slayers could go for the beacon. Cursing her stupidity, Cassie glanced towards the group making for the radio station's exits. Seeing Willow at the back of the group, making sure the others got out first, she risked it.

"Willow! Grab the beacon! We still need it!" she shouted.

Willow paused at hearing her name and turned back towards the voice. When she saw Cassie nodding her head towards the broadcast studio control room, the realization hit her too about the beacon. She didn't hesitate, turning around and rushing back to retrieve the beacon.

Cassie exhaled in relief seeing Willow go into the control room. Any sense of relief faded as she realized the growling was getting louder. She caught the sounds of feet… many feet, running towards her.

"HERE THEY COME!" Buffy shouted.

Cassie's head whipped back around and even in the lowlight and shadows, she could see the shapes of things rushing towards her and the Slayers. Her horror grew as she caught glimpses in the light. She was no stranger to aliens, but these creatures rushing towards her aroused an almost instinctual fear in her. Her training kicked in as she focused her aim and pulled the trigger on her weapon…

Buffy and Faith both jumped as Cassie opened fire at the charging Turok-Hans. They'd prepared themselves for the weapon's fire, but in rifle mode the Gallant's bolts were louder and brighter.

Thunderbolts of energized particle beams lit up the hallway. Cassie's aim was true as her first shot caught the lead charging vampire in the chest. Vampire skin was no match for particle beams designed to burn through armor. The beam burned through, ripping a fist-sized hole in the creature's upper chest, vaporizing its heart… the Turok-Han exploded into a cloud of dust.

Cassie was already moving on to her next target, firing more bursts, catching another vampire. Despite her success, more of the creatures were streaming down the hallway towards them.

The creatures were quick learners as they tried to dodge the deadly particle beams, but she compensated. Energy beams struck the vampires, sending them staggering, turning them to dust or sometimes causing them to burst into flames.

While the one-sided firefight raged in the hallway, Willow scrambled looking for the emergency beacon in the control room. Her heart pounded as she scoured for the beacon while the roars of the Turok-Hans and Cassie's weapon filled her ears. It seemed like an eternity before she found the beacon and grabbed it.

With the fighting continuing in the hallway, a sense of desperation gripped Willow. It seemed as if no one would escape alive as she stared at the emergency beacon. Cassie had shown her how to operate it and given her the code to activate and broadcast. Willow keyed in the code, activating the beacon…

#### oOoOo

Communications specialist Emily Nagata manned her station on Watcher-One. She'd been working with the ship's computer system to monitor and tag all the military communication channels on the North American continent. Like the rest of the crew, she was young, but well-trained and competent, so when she noticed a signal flashing on the emergency channel, she didn't hesitate.

Emily used the shuttle's sensors and tracking systems to track the beacon's location while notifying her commander what was happening. She opened a communications channel, "Viper-Twelve, this is Watcher-One! We read your signal five-by-five. Do you read me Viper-Twelve?"

Emily waited for a reply, but she wasn't expecting what happened next.

_"_ _H-Hello? Is anyone there?"_

It wasn't just the confused sounding voice that caused Emily's eyes to widen in surprise and shock. The background noises of recognizable energy weapons fire caused her to pause. There were people shouting mixed in with the shooting, and she swore she heard animals growling.

"V-Viper-Twelve this is Watcher-One, what's your status?"

_"_ _Whoever you are, we need your help!"_

"Viper-Twelve, please use proper radio procedures."

_"_ _Oh, you want Cassie… I mean Lieutenant Evans! My name is Willow."_

Confusion gripped Emily as she tried to figure out what was happening. Whatever was going on, it was bad as the fear in this Willow's voice was obvious while the sounds of fighting continued in the background.

"Willow, where's Viper-Twelve? Are you under attack?"

_"_ _We need—"_

A voice being cut off in mid-sentence was never a good sign. Only Emily's voice filled the radio channel, "Viper-Twelve… Viper-Twelve… Willow… is anyone there?"

Only getting dead air in reply, desperation gripped Emily. She wanted to give out hope to whoever was listening to her voice, "Viper-Twelve… Willow… hold on! Help is on the way!"

#### oOoOo

The clear, crisp voice coming from the beacon surprised Willow. The voice wanted to know what was happening, and she tried to tell the voice how desperate it was. A Turok-Han crashing through the control room's wall cut her off. The beacon flew out of her hand as she stumbled towards the door as the vampire lunged for her.

Death was coming for her, but a hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her into the hallway. Willow realized it was Faith that saved her.

"Thanks!" Willow exhaled as Faith slammed the door to the control room shut to delay the vampire.

"Save it, Red! Get moving!" Faith said, pushing her towards the exit.

Willow needed no further encouragement as she ran for the doors. At the exit, she turned and looked back, witnessing a laser-light show from hell as bright particle beams filled the hallway. Buffy and Faith were struggling with several vampires that dodged Cassie's shots. Cassie was now backing up, selecting her shots to keep holding back the vampires so they could retreat.

"BUFFY!" Willow shouted.

Buffy threw off the Turok-Han, she was fighting, long enough to see Willow at the exit. She knew everyone else was out of the building, "CASSIE! FAITH! TIME TO LEAVE!"

The three women turned and ran for the exit, Cassie fired shots at the closest vampires to hold them back. It was enough to buy them time as the three women hit the door and burst outside into the daylight.

Gathered across the street from the radio station was the rest of the group, watching the women catch their breath while also watching the doors for any sign of pursuit. Cassie heard Willow calling her name and turned to her, noting the upset expression on her face as she hesitantly approached her.

"I-I… I'm so sorry!"

Cassie looked at her confused about what she was apologizing for, "Huh? Sorry about what?"

Willow's face became even more downcast, "I-I dropped the beacon inside…"

"Damn it!" Cassie swore.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Willow said again, cursing her clumsiness.

Cassie shook her head as she glanced back at the radio station's entrance, "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the situation. We need to get back in there to get the beacon, so I can communicate with my people."

"I talked to them…"

Cassie spun towards Willow, her eyes wide open in surprise, "You what?"

"Things were bad, and I remembered the directions you gave on how to use it, so I activated the beacon," Willow said, her face taking on a sheepish expression.

Cassie's excitement grew, "You talked to the Arcadia? How?"

Willow shook her head, "I don't think it was the Arcadia. They were calling themselves Watcher-One. I told them we needed help, but then a vampire came through the wall and I dropped the beacon."

Buffy joined the conversation, "What does it mean?"

Cassie pieced together Willow's story, "I'm not sure, but it looks like they put a ship closer to the planet to pick up my signals. Was the beacon still on and transmitting when you dropped it?"

Willow shook her head, "I don't know. I think so. I was in the middle of talking to them when I got interrupted."

Cassie sighed, looking back at the radio station, then glancing at the charge level indicator on her Gallant.

Giles, overhearing Willow's story, joined them, "Will your people come?"

Cassie shrugged, "If they had a ship in orbit, and they know what they're doing, they should have gotten a lock on the beacon. The only problem is that we don't have the beacon anymore."

"The _only_ problem?" Xander replied, using his usual sarcastic tone.

Cassie couldn't help smiling, "Okay, not the only problem. Like number two or three on a long list of problems," she said, playing, along earning a grin from him.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "So, if we don't have the beacon, does that prevent your people from coming down?"

Cassie considered the question, "No, if they were talking to Willow they should've gotten a lock on its general location. Without the beacon, it makes it harder for them to find our exact location."

Faith joined in, "Whatever's happening, we need to hoof it back to Buffy's. The sun will go down in a few hours and they'll…" she said, looking towards the radio station, "probably be coming for us."

Buffy nodded, also looking at the building as images of Caleb taunted her, "Yeah, we need to get ready," she said as her face took on a contemplative expression.

Giles, Xander, and Willow read the look on Buffy's face.

"I know that look Buffy, what do you have planned?" Willow said.

"Well… I have an idea," she replied.

#### oOoOo

A dark human figure skulked through the radio station, his feet kicking up the dust of those Turok-Hans killed in the fighting. Throughout the hallways mingled the surviving vampires, including a large number sporting wounds from the strange weapon that female used. The vampires parted as the man moved through their much diminished ranks, barely giving them any notice as he contemplated the events and what unfolded here.

He ignored their howls of pain and anger as his mind swirled with thoughts and plans. His plan to trap the Slayers and the others here hadn't turned out as planned. He'd hoped to kill more Potentials or the alien female with the strange weapon. The only solace was that whatever those damned girls planned to do here, he'd managed to at least prevent it.

"Tonight, we'll make things right," Caleb muttered, taking in the scene of chaos and destruction around him.

Those surviving vampires around him growled in agreement as thoughts of feeding on the Slayers and Potentials stoked their thirst.

Caleb stepped through a hole in the wall, entering the radio station's control room. He didn't understand what they were doing here or what purpose it served. In fact, it didn't matter in the long run because all those bitches would be dead tonight.

A smirk, mixing evil and pleasure, grew on his face as images of what he would do to all those that opposed his master danced in his head. He savored the thought of toying with both Slayers before killing them.

Anticipation filled him, sending chills of raw excitement through his body at these images. The Slayers would of course die last… he wanted them to watch as he killed everyone else first.

A faint voice coming from underneath a pile of wall and ceiling debris interrupted his desires and fantasies. He cleared away the debris to discover what looked like a handheld radio. His confusion grew as he studied it because it wasn't like any radio he was familiar with. A voice suddenly came from the radio, catching him by surprise.

_"_ _Viper-Twelve… Willow… hold on! Help is on the way! Repeat… hold on! We have a SAR team on route…"_

Caleb's anger grew as he listened to the female voice repeating herself. Along with the anger came a strange growing sense of doubt, hearing the message repeat. He crushed the device in his hand, cutting off the voice, while pushing away any doubt and steeling his resolve and determination.

#### oOoOo

"Sir? Captain?"

Sergeant Bronowski's face greeted Coleiro as he opened his eyes. It felt like he'd only been asleep for a few minutes as he pushed through his exhaustion to wake up. He yawned and stretched as the Sergeant stood back.

"Been two hours already, Sergeant?"

A bad vibe grew in the Captain as Bronowski shook his head, "No, sir. We got an alert message from Watcher-One. They want you in the command cabin."

Coleiro shook off his tiredness as a burst of adrenaline rushed through him. He pushed himself out of the rack, heading to the dropship's command module. He grabbed a communications headset, opening a channel to Watcher-One.

"Watcher-One… Reaper-One here. What's your SITREP?"

Watcher-One responded, _"Sir, we've received another broadcast from Viper-Twelve's emergency beacon."_

"Were you able to get a lock on her location?"

_"_ _Yes, sir. We have a lock on her location…"_ Watcher-One's voice hesitated.

The bad vibe grew as the Captain picked up on Watcher-One's tone, "What's the problem?"

_"_ _Sir, Viper-Twelve wasn't on the channel… our tech specialist reported hearing weapons fire over the open channel. Sir, you need to listen to this."_

The Captain listened as Watcher-One replayed the recording. Another burst of adrenaline rushed through him as the recognizable sounds of combat played through his headset. As he listened, he swore he heard animals growling in the background, "Is that all there is?"

_"_ _Yes, sir. The channel was still open, and we kept broadcasting to see if anyone would respond… the beacon's signal cut-off a few minutes ago."_

"But we have a lock on her location now?"

_"_ _Yes, sir. We've tapped into the planet's civilian communications network. We're accessing a global database of information they call the Internet. From the coordinates we have and using this Internet, we've tracked the beacon's last transmission to a town called Sunnydale. The town is in the state of California, on the West coast of the continent."_

"Any information on the layout and geography and town? Anywhere we can use for an LZ?"

_"_ _We're just shifting orbit to use our optical and passive sensors to scan the area. We'll update as soon as we have more info."_

"Understood, Watcher-One. Inform me immediately of any changes or if the beacon broadcasts again. The priority now is to find us an LZ close to the beacon's location."

_"_ _Yes, sir!"_ Watcher-One replied as the Captain cut the channel.

Coleiro turned to the dropship pilot, "How long would it take us to get to the planet if we increased to full speed?"

The pilot and copilot checked their displays and did quick calculations, "If we go to full speed we can be there in just over two hours. The problem is that our heat signature will light us up like a Christmas tree. They'll pick us up easy on any infrared or thermal detection systems."

Coleiro considered his short list of choices. They could continue on as is which at their current speed meant they were still over five hours from their orbital re-entry point. That wasn't an option because it was clear from the communications that Lieutenant Evans was in trouble. If they increased speed, they would get to Earth faster, but that would increase the chances of detection, alerting the planet's defenses before they were in position.

There was one more choice… he could call off the rescue mission and turn around. He shook off the thought. He refused to abandon anyone if there was still a chance.

_What we need is something to get us in closer before we're detected. We can't make it look like jamming… It has to look natural or something that won't set off any alarms…_

An idea sparked in his head. The resulting smirk that grew on his face caused the dropship pilot and copilot to wonder if their Captain had lost it.

Coleiro opened a radio channel to the other two shuttles, "Watcher-Two… Watcher-Three, are you on the channel, over?"

The other shuttles acknowledged, and the Captain outlined his idea, "Can we use our systems to generate noise to mask us? Can you make it look like background radiation to diffuse any radar signals coming our way?"

Watcher-Two replied after a considering what the Captain was asking, _"Uh… yes, sir. I think I know where you're going with this. We could generate noise with our ECM systems they might confuse for background cosmic radiation noise. The noise will partially diffuse radar signals, but unless they are actively scanning for us, the return signal would be indistinguishable and unreadable at long range. The problem is that as we close the range, the effects of the noise diminish. They'll eventually burn through the noise and get a hard return. While this will interfere with their electronic detection systems, they'll still be able to see us with any optical systems they have. There's nothing we can do about that."_

"I understand. We need to create doubt and hesitation long enough, so we can get to our orbital point to launch our drones, and then we can start the jamming."

Watcher-Three joined in, _"Sir, if I may suggest. We can go to full thruster burn, gain our speed and then cut our thrusters. We can use our built up momentum to glide towards our launch point, and it should minimize our heat signatures."_

"Sounds good. How close do you think we can get before we set off alarms?"

Watcher-Two replied, _"Hard to say, sir. We'll probably get within thirty minutes of our orbital insertion point before they burn through our noise… possibly twenty minutes, but that's pushing it."_

Coleiro considered the information and the plan he was devising on the fly. Despite the improvising and the risks, the window was acceptable if it meant they got to the planet faster. This at least gave them a chance to save Lieutenant Evans from whatever threat was down there.

"Understood. Watcher-Two and Three, co-ordinate with Pelican-One on formation, approach vector and when to go to full thrusters and shutdown. Get us there! Understood?"

Coleiro exited the command module, leaving the flight planning and piloting to the dropship and shuttle crews. His destination was now the Cyclone Infantry bay. He needed to update Sergeant Bronowski and his ground team on the changing situation and the possibility they were heading into a hot LZ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	12. It's show time

## CHAPTER TWELVE  
It's show time

_"_ _Coleiro's plan for rescuing Cassie Evans was unorthodox, but entirely within his character. Some look upon this risky, audacious and seemingly thrown together plan as mirroring the character flaws of someone with the reputation as a womanizing maverick with a death wish. What some failed to see was the tactical genius that lay beneath the surface. He doesn't talk about his academy days much, but it's rumored he could have finished at the top of his class. It was only the amassing of so many demerits for his indiscretions and behavior that held him back. This mixture of bravado, cockiness and skill would serve him well when he assumed command of the Arcadia and in the coming days…"_

— Excerpt from _"The Reaper Comes for Everyone: The Life of Admiral Paul Coleiro"_

#### oOoOo

Buffy and the others made it back to the house with no further incident. They brought Dawn and Spike up to speed on what happened at the radio station and what they faced.

After seeing Andrew's condition, Spike kept his sarcastic comments to a minimum. Everyone tried to relax and catch their breath while Dawn and Willow took care of Andrew and cleaned him up.

Anya was up and moving around, which relieved Xander to no end. Though she seemed calmer and in a better frame of mind, he could sense an undercurrent of anger bubbling beneath the surface.

Despite The First having played with her mind and emotions, he realized he bore responsibility for some of that anger too. With the threat hanging over them, there was no perfect time to talk things out with her. Yet, because of the likelihood of an attack, Xander wanted to things right between them… just in case.

As Anya and Xander talked in the backyard, Cassie kept her distance, discreetly watching them from the kitchen. Despite not having really done anything to cause problems, a sense of guilt weighed on her. She tried to brush it off, but realized her growing attraction and feelings towards Xander were bringing on her guilt. She wanted to not cause any more problems, but her growing desires made it hard to stay away from him.

A voice interrupted her guilty and desirous thoughts, "Huh? Sorry," she said.

Buffy noted Cassie's obvious distraction, seeing Xander and Anya through the window in the backyard. It was ridiculously obvious there was chemistry and a connection between Cassie and Xander.

Having been around and fought with Cassie, she had gotten to know her better. She saw the other woman's strength and confidence and could understand Xander's attraction to her. He'd always had a thing for Slayers with his long-time crush on Buffy and one-night stand with Faith a matter of public record. This time Xander was getting all the positives with Cassie without the Slayer baggage.

Still, watching how Xander and Cassie connected with each other, it made Buffy wonder how things would have turned out if Xander and she had hooked up. Despite the hint of temptation, she valued his friendship more than risking it by engaging in some foolish fling. By this time Buffy realized her being the Slayer cursed her regarding long-term relationships. It was hard finding the right guy—who was alive—who could deal with the whole Slayer thing.

_Maybe Faith has the right idea… one-night stands are the way to go. Just avoid the complications and heartbreak_ , she thought, wistfully recalling all her relationships and how they had all ended. Her current on-again, off-again trysts with Spike seemed to be about the right speed she was looking for right now.

Buffy shook off thoughts about failed relationships to focus on more important matters. They needed to get ready for when the sun went down, "How many shots you got left in that gun of yours?"

Cassie's face took on a grim look which didn't reassure Buffy, "I've got about five shots with this current magazine. My spare magazine is full, so I have forty-eight shots with that one. I've also got two magazines for sidearm mode. If I leave the barrel extension on, make it around forty shots."

Faith joined the conversation, "When the sun goes down… they'll be coming for us," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Cassie nodded. Out of reflex she turned and glanced at Xander through the window as a sudden sadness filled her, "Yeah, I know," she muttered. She brushed off the feeling, turning her attention back to Buffy and Faith, "Do either of you have a plan?"

"I think we should make our stand here first," Buffy said.

Cassie considered the idea, "Agreed, if we can channel them through one opening we might hold them off or contain them, but…"

Buffy finished Cassie's thoughts, "What do we do if we can't hold them back?"

"Yeah," Cassie said, nodding.

Faith added, "If we're going down, I say we make them pay for it! How about we use some of those gasoline bombs you were talking about earlier?"

A grim smirk grew on Buffy's face, "You read my mind! We hold them off here as long as possible and then take the fight outside. We put Cassie in the middle with her gun to take out vamps. Everyone else is tossing gas bombs and taking out anything that gets past her."

Faith eyed Buffy, "And what are we doing?"

Buffy met Faith's eyes, "You and I are on the outside, keeping them from swarming everyone else. We dust as many of the bastards as we can!"

Faith rolled her eyes, "And we're doing this until sunrise?"

Cassie picked up on what Buffy wanted to do, "It's all we got, but at least it's a plan! What if we pick where we want to make our stand after here? If we do that, we can prepare it ahead of time."

Both Slayers studied Cassie, curious with what she was suggesting, "What do you have in mind?" Buffy said.

"We put cars with full gas tanks in blocking spots on the street approaches. When we get rushed, one or two well-placed shots sets them off. We also pre-position the area with weapons, so we don't have to carry everything from the house. We'll be able to move faster. What we have to do now is get the fallback spot ready while we also get the house barricaded. We make the front door weaker to draw them in… that'll be our choke point in the house. When we can't hold them back, we retreat upstairs and exit the house from the second floor."

"Why not use the back door?" Faith said.

"If we leave the back door too weak, then we have to cover it too. We don't want to divide our strength having to watch both doorways. Plus, when it's time to leave, we don't want to be wasting time having to take down barricades. Besides, from what I've seen of these creatures… they think one-dimensionally. Once they have a way in, they'll keep rushing in until they can swarm us. Bringing them through the front door means we don't need everybody on the main floor."

Cassie's plan impressed Buffy as she glanced at Faith, "What do you think?"

The plan also left an impression on Faith. They may all die tonight, but it would be a wild send off, "It's your house B. I'll let you make the call," she said, shrugging.

Buffy didn't want to waste any more time, "Okay, let's get started then! Let's get everyone together. We got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time…"

#### oOoOo

The Secretary of Defense, with General Coulson in tow, entered the Pentagon's main command center. The undercurrent tone of panic gripping the room caught the SecDef unprepared. He made his way over to the senior officer in charge, who stood as he approached.

"What's going on General?"

The SecDef noted the General's nervous twitch and sweating as he spoke, "Sir, about twenty-five minutes ago, deep space radar picked up a group of objects. They're on a high speed trajectory approach for Earth!"

"How many? Why didn't we pick them up sooner?"

The General shook his head, "Sir, the objects were being masked by what our satellite techs thought was normal background cosmic radiation. It was our ground stations that picked them up as they got closer. We estimate at least three objects… the largest is about 200 feet long!"

General Coulson spoke up, "Could they be asteroids?"

Again the General shook his head, "No, they're slowing! Computer estimates their speed and approach vector are bringing them into orbit over us. We're using optical and thermal-imaging systems to get a better look at the objects. Their lines are too smooth and contoured to be any natural occurring objects.

Dread filled the SecDef, "How long before they achieve orbit?"

"Five… ten minutes at the most, sir!" the General replied, his nervous twitch getting worse.

The need to do something overcame the dread, "I need to speak to the President!" the SecDef said, trying to keep his voice steady.

#### oOoOo

As he prepared to undock his fighter, Coleiro checked his systems for the umpteenth time as the dropship began its orbital approach towards the planet.

"Watcher-Two… Watcher-Three, time to split off. Prepare to launch your drones when you reach your stations."

_"_ _That's a roger, Reaper-One,"_ the shuttles acknowledged in unison.

"Watcher-One, you getting any activity at our LZ?"

_"_ _No, sir. Still quiet… no emissions coming from the airport. We're picking up power signatures and some faint life signs from the town, but you should be clear at the airport."_

It still surprised Coleiro that they could use the airport near the town. He still couldn't believe a town was almost devoid of life. They'd looked at several LZ's before deciding to risk using the airport.

It was only the almost non-existent movement and activity in and around the airport that made this choice possible. There was a higher risk involved, but the airport gave them a good hard runway surface to land and take off from. The bonus was the airport put them closer to the beacon's last broadcast location than any of the other LZ's.

_Maybe it has something to do with what we heard on that call?_

The Captain briefed Sergeant Bronowski and his team on the last transmission and they were ready to treat the LZ as hot, taking on anything they encountered. The Sergeant was a fervent believer in superior firepower, outfitting his team to carry as much firepower as they could.

Watcher-Two and Three's voices on the radio channel interrupted Coleiro's thoughts.

_"_ _Reaching drone launch point in ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one. Drones away!"_

He realized it wouldn't be long before ground radar picked up the drones entering the atmosphere. As he prepared to disengage his fighter from the dropship, he took a deep breath to relax and enjoy this last moment of calm before all hell broke loose.

#### oOoOo

Unaware of what was transpiring in orbit and Washington, Buffy and the others prepared for the approaching storm they had to face. While Xander, Willow, Giles and others prepared the house, barricading the windows and reinforcing the doors, for the expected attack. Cassie, Buffy, Faith and some Potentials prepared their final battleground if forced from the house.

There was the possibility there wouldn't be an attack tonight or the barricades would hold, but nobody was betting on it. If the barricades didn't hold back their attackers, they would channel them into a killing zone on the main floor of the house for Cassie to thin their numbers.

As Cassie and the others scoped out a site for their stand, she wished she had more information to make plans with. She asked about the numbers they would face, but Buffy couldn't offer any specifics beyond _"expect lots of them!"_

Buffy decided on where they should make their stand, which everybody avoided using the word "final" to describe it. A few blocks from the High School and Hellmouth, it was a wide street intersection bordered by a strip mall and several cemeteries.

The wide open area gave Cassie a good line-of-sight to use her weapon. She planned on using her weapon in sidearm mode inside the house, then switch to rifle mode once outside. As a precaution, she'd given Xander, Giles, Robin and a few others quick training on how to use the Gallant in case something happened to her.

They prepared by hiding their cache of weapons for quick access and then pushed vehicles to different points around the position, making sure there was gas in their tanks. The vehicles would make for some spectacular fireworks when the time came.

Everyone made it back as the sun was setting. A tired Cassie found a quiet spot in the living room and took advantage to grab her breath and rest. She closed her eyes as she sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Rest eluded her as images of Bringers and those vampires from the radio station danced in her thoughts. To push away the nightmarish images, she focused on their plan, going over everything again. She realized that this wasn't the greatest plan ever devised, but considering the situation they faced, it was all they could do.

"Cassie?"

Her eyes popped open at Xander's voice. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't hear him approach.

"Hey," she said, a small smile flashing on her face.

Xander took the smile as an invitation and sat down next to her, "How're you doing?"

Cassie sighed, meeting his eyes. She'd faced combat before, but this differed from anything she'd trained for before. Mortality danced in her thoughts as she considered his question, "To be honest, I'm nervous and scared," she said in a hushed voice.

Xander grinned, catching her by surprise, "Then I'm in good company."

Cassie tried to smile, but it only came out as a sad facsimile of one. There was so much she wanted to say, but hesitation held her back. The realization they were running out of time brushed away her hesitation as she reached out and took Xander's hand in hers.

"I-I saw you and Anya talking. I hope she's feeling better," Cassie's voice caught, feeling more nervous around Xander, "I-I want to say I'm sorry again for causing problems between you two."

Xander's smile faded, "What went on, and is going on between Anya and me is not your fault or problem. We talked, and she's feeling better. But as with everything else, it will take time…"

As Xander gazed at Cassie, he found himself filled with a deep regret. He'd lost count of how many apocalypses he, Buffy, and the others had gone through. Each one of them was different, and each time scared out of his wits, but never filled with this much regret. He wished they had more time. A part of him wanted to carry her off or send her somewhere safe, out of harm's way. That wasn't possible and despite her age she was a trained soldier and wouldn't run out on them.

His heart beat faster as he gazed deeper into her eyes. He didn't think as his reflexes took control and he reached out and touched her face. A soft smile filled Cassie's face as his light touch caressed her. Time slowed down as he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She responded to his kiss as desires and urges flared inside her. It seemed forever before they pulled away from each other.

"I-I wish…" Cassie whispered.

"I know," Xander replied, a sad smile etching his face. He leaned in again, "I wish we had more time," he whispered as he kissed her again.

Buffy's entrance into the living room interrupted any further thoughts and desires. She'd watched Xander and Cassie, and her first reaction was to give them more alone time. That wasn't possible as they'd all run out of time.

"The sun's gone down… looks like Bringers will try for us first," Buffy said, turning her focus to the upcoming fight.

#### oOoOo

A voice crying out from one of the monitoring stations ratcheted up the anxiety levels in the command center, "Sir! Space Command is reporting they've detected six unidentified bogies entering the atmosphere!"

The General in charge spun towards the monitoring station, "Where the hell did they come from?"

"Unknown, sir! They just appeared on our screens! They're giving off huge signatures!"

"Do we know where they'll be coming down?"

The airman manning the station was struggling to keep the panic out of his voice, "They're coming down over the Eastern seaboard! Computer estimates their trajectory somewhere between Boston and Norfolk. They should be over the East coast in about twelve minutes!"

The General was trying to wrap his mind around what was unfolding when another monitoring station cried out.

"Sir! Six more targets entering the atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico! They'll cross somewhere between New Orleans and Galveston!"

"Jesus…" muttered the General, wiping the sweat from his brow.

The SecDef moved towards the General, but his eyes were on the large display screen of the United States. The screen was displaying real-time data from tracking systems in space and the ground, showing the estimated tracks of the incoming UFOs. Whatever these objects were, they were giving off strong radar returns and there was no doubt or denying they were heading for the United States.

The commanding General didn't waver as he faced the SecDef, "Mr. Secretary, it is my opinion the country faces the threat of attack! We don't know what their intentions are or their purpose! Our fighters can intercept them and either force them to land or shoot them down!"

The SecDef's eyes returned to the large display screen. There were only minutes to decide, and he found it strange that his next order might start an interplanetary war. He considered if there were any other options available to him.

Whatever options that might have been available to him evaporated as the large display screen along with all the monitoring stations' screens filled with static.

#### oOoOo

"What's the status on jamming?"

_"_ _We've got them blind and deaf, sir,"_ Watcher-Two replied, adding a chuckle.

"How long before they burn through the jamming?"

_"_ _We've started the clock… we estimate one-hundred and twenty minutes. We might buy you a few more minutes, but they're rotating through frequencies."_

"Pelican-One, you copy that?"

_"_ _We copy that Reaper-One."_

"It's show time folks," Coleiro said, his tone almost making him sound bored.

The Alpha undocked from the Horizont, and both craft started their approach runs for re-entry down to the planet. It wasn't long before the plasma from the heat of re-entry streamed off the heat shields of the craft.

#### oOoOo

The undercurrent of panic was bubbling to the surface in the command center. The atmosphere was becoming one of frenzied panic as technicians bounced between monitoring stations and computer consoles. Frustrated voices filled the air as people barked out orders and demanded updates. While static now only filled the screens that displayed tracking data, a television mounted on one far wall was still broadcasting. The SecDef and General Coulson were watching a breaking news broadcast with the announcer's voice only adding to the surreal situation.

_"_ _This just in… we are receiving reports that airports across the United States… in fact across the whole continent, have lost their air traffic control radar! This has thrown the whole air traffic system into chaos, but the FAA reports that airports still have radio communications and have implemented emergency protocols to deal with this emergency…"_

The SecDef shook his head in disbelief as if he was experiencing a waking nightmare.

_"_ _We have unconfirmed reports this disruption is also affecting military communication systems. The White House has not yet released any official statements about the situation. The little information we are getting has been from the Pentagon. They released a brief statement saying the problems being experienced were a result from unexpected solar activity. However, following up with several observatories, they are no signs of any solar flares or increased solar activity that would explain this disruption. NASA and JPL have refused to comment…"_

The SecDef turned to Coulson, "The White House is screaming to know what the hell is going on! All I can tell them is that we _were_ tracking twelve unidentified objects entering our atmosphere over the East and Gulf coasts!"

The SecDef shook his head in frustration, glancing back at the TV, "Sun spots! This was the best we could come up with to deal with any public panic."

Coulson sympathized with what the SecDef was going through, "Well, it's better than saying we're tracking UFOs before we lost all our radar systems," he replied.

The SecDef shuddered at the thought of how the public would react to that news. It was bad enough now, but it would get worse if word of what was happening leaked out. They would have to tell the public something at some point because there was no way they could cover this up. Yet, knowing the fear and panic this would cause didn't make it any easier. The General approaching them shifted his thoughts. The grim expression on the General's face didn't bode good news.

"General, tell me you have something?"

The General shook his head, "All military radio and satellite communications along with all radar across the entire country is down! All we have are land line communications and hard line connections to our bases."

The SecDef didn't want to know the answer, but he had to ask, "Could this be a natural or technical problem?"

"No, sir! This is electronic warfare being conducted against our systems! We're being jammed on an unprecedented scale! It's like nothing we've ever seen before!"

The answer still shocked the SecDef as he tried to grasp the reality of the situation they were facing, "What about the objects that were being tracked? What about our jets?"

The General shook his head, "We've tried switching our fighters over to civilian frequencies, but they're a mess trying to deal with all the civilian air traffic. We've also tried Air Guard frequencies, but those are being jammed too! There's no ground radar to vector our fighters to intercept and the fighters airborne, we can talk to, report that their attack radars are next to useless. We have no communications with any Navy ships or subs at sea."

The SecDef struggled to understand the situation, "How wide spread is this? What about our oversea bases?"

"We don't know what's happening in our own airspace, but we still have communications with all our overseas bases over hard lines. All our overseas bases… the Pacific, Europe and Middle East report no problems or jamming… no sign of activity or threats."

As the SecDef considered the information, a Colonel came up, handing the General a printout. He waited, trying to keep his patience as the General read the paper. The surrounding chaos and pressure forced his hand, "What is it, General?"

"We've received indications the Russians and Chinese have both increased their alert status! They seem to know something is going on with us," the General replied, appearing shaken as he tried to keep a grasp on the unraveling situation.

The SecDef took a deep breath. The thought of the US's two primary adversaries taking advantage while they were blind made him want to swear, "What else?"

"We've got an unconfirmed report from Hawaii. Pacific Command is saying they got a radio report from a freighter reporting two balls of fire over the Pacific heading for the West coast."

Things were spinning out of control as the SecDef tried to keep everything straight, "Why are we just hearing about this now?"

"The report just came in, sir! It looks this happened after the jamming started."

That was the final straw for the SecDef. They had to do something other than sit around, "Scramble everything! Get the Air Force off the ground! I want those jets in the air!" he ordered.

A flabbergasted General stared in shock at the SecDef, "Sir! We have no radar, and we only have limited communications!"

"I don't care! I don't want them caught on the ground! Get AWACS in the air!"

"Sir, their radars are useless as well! They might burn through the jamming if they get close enough."

"That's better than having them on the ground like sitting ducks!"

An aide approached, interrupting the exchange, "Mr. Secretary…"

"Yes!"

"The President is on the line… he wants to speak to you."

The SecDef took another deep breath. He wasn't looking forward to having to explain to the President why the country was blind and open to attack.

#### oOoOo

Cassie stood in the middle of the street, catching her breath. Amazed would be an understatement to express that everyone was still alive, and they'd made it this far. The barricades held longer than she expected, and when the Bringers stormed inside their plan to turn the main floor into a kill zone worked beyond expectations.

She'd emptied an energy magazine, cutting down the Bringers. Her shots had blown holes in the walls and set fire to the drapes and furniture, but they stopped the first attack. It was only when the Turok-Hans attacked did they abandon the house.

As vampires rushed into the house, Buffy used a gasoline bomb to set fire to the front door. The fire spread, engulfing the staircase and spreading through the main floor. Everyone was on the second floor and as the smoke and flames grew, they made their escape out one of the bedroom windows and down to the ground.

To cover their escape, they'd tossed more gas bombs, creating a wall of fire to shield them from attack. Cassie emptied a few shots from her Gallant into the more aggressive vampires and Bringers as they made their break to the spot to make their last stand. By this time, huge flames were consuming the house, and Giles forced Dawn and Buffy to move as they'd froze, standing transfixed, watching their house burn.

Everyone was out of breath by the time they reached their pre-selected spot. They lucked out as nobody pursued them from the house. It appeared their foe was taking their time, gathering their strength and preparing for their next attack. Cassie used the respite to switch her Gallant to rifle mode. She scanned the darkness for movement, glancing to the vehicles they'd positioned to use as road blocks.

Around her, everyone prepared for the next attack. Potentials were getting the gas bombs they'd hidden ready for use. She glanced over, seeing Xander with Dawn, Willow and Spike. Except for Spike, they were all carrying swords. Cassie still found it strange they were using swords to fight rather than firearms, but that was the way it was.

Her gaze settled on Xander, and an ocean of thoughts and feelings filled her head. The memory of his kiss lingered, and she wondered if they would ever get another chance to repeat it. Her thoughts shifted to her family on Tirol and she wondered if they would ever know what happened to her. Buffy's shouts interrupted any further contemplations.

"GET READY! HERE THEY COME!"

Cassie turned to face the direction Buffy was pointing, putting her weapon to her shoulder and aiming towards one of the abandoned vehicles. The optical sight on the Gallant made it easy for her to aim for the vehicle's gas tank. She took deep breaths to settle herself down. Movements in the darkness caught her attention…

Apparitions emerged from the darkest shadows, rushing towards them. Cassie didn't hesitate. Her first shot was true. The vehicle went up in a huge roaring explosion, cutting down Bringers and vampires with flames and debris.

Shouts caught her attention, and she spun around in time to see a wave of Bringers rushing in from another direction. More shots from her Gallant sent more vehicles up in explosions.

Potentials throwing gasoline bombs added to the flames lighting up the night. Cassie didn't think, only reacting to face the nearest threats and take them out with bursts of particle beams.

The roars of vampires filled the night air, adding to the hellish atmosphere. A faraway booming sound—like distant thunder—echoed through the night sky, adding to the nightmarish scene as the desperate fighting continued.

#### oOoOo

The SecDef stood frozen, staring at the array of video screens around the command center that displayed static or gibberish.

In his head, he replayed the conversation he'd just had with the President. The Joint Chiefs were pushing to go to DEFCON 2, and he leaned that way too. What caused him hesitation was if they raised the alert condition, the Russians and Chinese would respond in kind.

_It could get out of hand so easily_ , he thought, staring at the static-filled display screens. General Coulson's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Sir, can I offer a suggestion."

"What is it, General?"

"Sir, I understand the stakes involved here with the Joint Chiefs wanting to go to DEFCON 2…"

"Yes."

"The Russians and Chinese will increase their alert level in response."

"Yes, they will," replied the SecDef.

"Sir, during the missions and operations that my unit has been conducting, we have established contacts with other militaries around the world. I can call my contacts in Russia and China and let them know what's happening. We might keep a lid on this, and maybe they can provide us some intelligence or information on what's happening."

A glimmer of hope dangled in front of the SecDef, but going to the Russians and Chinese for help seemed anathema to him. An aide interrupted any further considerations.

"Sir, we've just received more information from Pacific Command about the earlier reports of fireballs over the Pacific."

"What do they have?"

"They lost sight as they got lower in the atmosphere. It looked like they burnt out. Estimated speed of the objects was over Mach 2… it's confirmed that they're headed towards the West coast."

"What's being done?"

"Sir, it's difficult with radar and communications still out. They're scrambling fighters, trying to stack them at different altitudes to provide cover for the major population centers, but it's a nightmare. They're still dealing with a lot of civilian air traffic caught up in this mess. The priority is trying to get commercial jets and private planes down at the closest airfields to clear the air space. Air Combat Command wants to run patrols off the coast, but the jamming and all the air traffic is making it impossible to organize those right now."

The weight of the world was pressing on the SecDef's shoulders as he grasped this news. He turned to Coulson, "Make the calls! Let the Russians and Chinese know what's happening, and if the shit hits the fan, ask what support they can provide."

#### oOoOo

"Pelican-One, the LZ is clear. You can start your landing."

_"Roger, that Reaper-One. We have the field and you in visual, on landing approach now."_

Coleiro's Alpha was in Battloid mode, patrolling the edges of the airport. The fighter's sensors were on full power with thermal vision engaged. His display screen showed everything as clear as day. It was quiet, which was a good thing, but he found it eerie that there was no one around. He realized with their arrival things would not stay quiet for long.

Coleiro thought a silent prayer, _Just stay quiet long enough…_

The Horizont began its approach, and the Captain increased his guard, scanning the airport and airfield for any threats. The dropship came in hard and fast, hitting its retros as it touched the tarmac, coming to a stop close to the small terminal. Sergeant Bronowski and his security team wasted no time exiting the dropship and deploying into their security perimeter.

Coleiro waited until the Sergeant and his team were in position and then hit his thrusters to launch his Battloid in the air. While hovering he switched his Alpha into fighter mode, deploying his landing gear and landing his ship in VTOL mode.

The Captain exited his fighter and accessed his fighter's cargo module to unload his Cyclone. In a matter of minutes, the vehicle was on the ground and configured for riding.

While Coleiro settled on his Cyclone, checking its systems out, Sergeant Bronowski came over to check in for any last minute orders or instructions.

"Okay Sergeant, you know what to do."

"Yes, sir. We'll make sure things stay nice and quiet here while you're gone."

Coleiro nodded, "Remember, if I'm not back in sixty minutes, you'll set a thirty minute demolition charge on my Alpha, climb back aboard the dropship and take off. You'll hold at the predetermined docking altitude for no longer than the demolition charge timer."

"But, sir, we—"

"No buts, Sergeant! I'm giving myself more than enough time to go out, find Lieutenant Evans and get back. If I don't get back in that time… that means I'm not making it back! I'm not leaving my Alpha behind for the locals to take apart and study. Understood?"

Bronowski heard the Captain's tone and understood this wasn't up for any further discussion, "Yes, sir," he replied, saluting the Captain.

The Captain nodded, returning the salute and gave the Cyclone's throttle a rev, getting a roar in reply. He glanced around the airfield, his eyes settling on his fighter. He pushed down his visor. The helmet's heads-up display flashed on, and a timer clock appeared in the lower right-hand corner of the HUD, beginning its count down.

Coleiro wasted no more time, gunning his throttle. The Cyclone roared off, heading towards the road exit in the fence line with the darkness swallowing him up as he headed towards his objective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	13. Time to get the hell out of here!

## CHAPTER THIRTEEN  
Time to get the hell out of here!

_"_ _The Cyclone is a mecha power armor system designed to enhance the survivability, strengths, and abilities of individual soldiers. Its standard vehicle mode resembles a motorcycle used by the soldier as a primary means of transport. By sliding a switch, the rider can initiate the transformation into Battloid mode where it attaches to the soldier's CVR-3 armor. The Cyclone comes in several variants, and its modular weapon systems allow the mounting of a wide selection of weapons that serve as hand-held weapons in Battloid mode."_

— Excerpt from the REF Field Guide (Tirol, 2036)

#### oOoOo

General Coulson studied the huge display map of the continental United States, ignoring the barely contained frenzied panic and chaos of the command center.

The map normally had icons displaying and moving in real-time representing military aircraft and ships deployed in and around the country. Now, because of the jamming, there was no incoming data being processed with the military units frozen in their last known locations.

A frown etched Coulson's face as he studied the map. There'd been some garbled communications from the fighters launched to intercept the incoming UFOs. From the fragmented and garbled communications, the fighters had encountered no hostiles over the East or South coasts while sweeping their areas for any intruders.

On the West coast, an even bigger mess was occurring. The fighter units scrambled were being diverted to assist with getting civilian air traffic on the ground. Other than the initial sighting report over the Pacific, no other reports or sightings had come in about UFOs.

Coulson's gut was telling him something else was going on beyond all this, but he couldn't see it. While he racked his head trying to figure out what was happening the nearby television continued providing updates.

_"_ _With air traffic control radar out, chaos and panic continue in the skies over the continent as efforts continue to land all civilian aircraft safely. We've received many reports of near-misses, along with reports of crash landings of aircraft that ran out of fuel. Luckily, the crashes report no fatalities, but there are serious injuries reported from several crash sites. There are reports of the Air Force scrambling fighters into the air. In a brief press release, the Pentagon is saying that aircraft are being put into the air to assist with managing air traffic during this disruption. Pentagon spokespersons are refusing to comment on reports regarding impacts on US military radio and satellite communications. This is in the face of reports from several civilian radio operators reporting increased use of civilian radio channels by military units. There is a report out of the UK of several unidentified objects entering Earth's atmosphere, heading towards the United States, before air traffic radar went out. Pentagon spokespersons are refusing to comment on this report."_

#### oOoOo

The particle beam from Cassie's weapon caught the charging vampire square in the chest, igniting the creature's clothing and flesh. The vampire burst into flames, burning for a few seconds before the creature vaporized into a cloud of dust.

Cassie risked a glance, seeing Xander slash out at a Bringer with his sword. Movement coming toward her pulled her attention back. Another vampire, filling the gap of the vampire she'd dusted, rushed her. This time it took two shots to put down the creature.

All around her the fires and smoke from burning vehicles created a hellish landscape while the defenders continued their desperate fighting to hold on until sunrise. So far, the attacks seemed disorganized and uncoordinated as Bringers and vampires rushed in separately from different directions. Cassie gave thanks for the enemy's disorganization in how they planned their rushes and not thinking to attack from all sides at the same time... yet. She got a sense they'd thrown their enemy off-balance by the intensity of their defense.

Along the defensive perimeter, Buffy and Faith did their dance of death to break up attacks and keep their foes disorganized. Cassie watched them, wondering how anyone could move that fast without power armor. Their strength didn't seem humanly possible as they threw themselves at the enemy while she tried to provide cover fire for them.

All the while, in the back of her mind, she kept track of her shots, trying not to dwell on the fact she was running out of ammo...

#### oOoOo

Coleiro pulled over to the side of the road. The timer on his HUD reminded him of the need to rush, but the spot gave him a good vantage point to study the town to plan his next moves. His drive to this point had been quiet, despite his combat instincts screaming warnings to him. His next moves were important as he studied the town and noting the time left on the timer.

_If I was a downed pilot... where would I hold up?_

He had the rescue beacon's last coordinates, highlighted as a navigation point on his HUD. This gave him a starting point, but considering the last transmission, there was no guarantee she was still there. He needed to decide how he would approach the town and how he would search for the Lieutenant after reaching the beacon's last location.

_It would be nice if things worked smoothly and quietly for a change..._

The Captain was about to check-in with Sergeant Bronowski when a deep yellow-red glow coming from one part of town caught his attention. He recognized it as a fire, using his helmet optics to zoom in to get a better view, catching sight of flames and smoke. He detected more fires in another part of the town. When he zoomed in to get a better view, he caught bright beams of intense light mixing with fire's glow. Unease filled him as he recognized the beams as shots from an energy weapon.

An exasperated sigh escaped the Captain, along with a silent curse to the fates. He gunned the Cyclone's throttle, roaring off down the road towards town.

#### oOoOo

Faith struggled against the swarm of vampires and Bringers. Like Buffy, she tried drawing attacks on her to keep them busy from swarming the others. Buffy and she had a better chance fighting off the swarms compared to the others.

Fires burned around her as roars, shouts and screams filled the night. Two bright flashes reached out, catching and turning to dust two Turok-Hans rushing her. She directed a silent thanks towards Cassie for the assist. Her fancy "ray gun" was making an impact, but it was only one weapon with sunrise still hours away.

Cassie turned to the next threat after taking out two vampires rushing Faith. Panic bubbled beneath the surface as she realized, at this rate of fire, she would drain her last energy magazine in a few minutes. Once out of ammo, she would only have the sword Xander had insisted on giving her to defend herself with. She pushed down on the stirring panic, focusing on the greatest threats.

A faint familiar sound joined the cacophony of the fighting, catching Cassie's attention. At first she thought she was hallucinating it, but as the sound grew louder, she realized it wasn't her imagination.

While Cassie may have heard this new sound first, Faith was the first to see what was making the high-pitch whine. It sounded like an engine, but different as she turned to see a motorcycle come roaring out of the darkness towards them.

The motorcycle looked like a high-end racing bike, but not like anything she was familiar with. Shock and surprise filled her as she tried to figure out what was happening, but three things made the motorcycle stand out even more to her...

One... there appeared to be what looked like a huge gun attached to the front wheel. Two... the driver's gear looked strange, like body armor. Three... the skull image filling the driver's helmet visor stood out. Faith wanted to brush it off as some over-the-top macho pretender symbol, but she couldn't shake the menacing chill it gave her.

An overwhelming sense of relief flooded through Cassie as she recognized the approaching Cyclone. While the others didn't know what was happening, she realized this fight was about to change as she caught sight of the skull on the driver's helmet visor. Anticipation grew as a predatory gleam flashed in her eyes, knowing what was about to happen.

#### oOoOo

The unmistakable sounds of fighting grew as Coleiro approached the fires and energy weapon's fire. The recognizable sound of a Gallant firing mixed in with the sounds of people shouting and screaming and what sounded like animals roaring. He gunned the throttle to close the distance and burning vehicles and humans fighting what looked like humanoid-looking aliens flashed into view.

He analyzed the tactical situation... the people, which seemed to be mostly young women, were fighting a defensive battle against hordes of aliens. Cool analytics and tactics took a backseat as he caught sight of one young woman get swarmed and dragged off by the aliens. Before he could react, the aliens struck at the struggling woman with their claws until she was motionless. He'd thought he'd seen everything, but horror filled him when he witnessed the creatures drink the dead woman's blood. The nightmarish scene set him off as anger and rage flared inside him.

"BASTARDS!" he screamed, seeing the aliens continuing to feed on the dead woman. He gunned the throttle hard to close the range, preparing to shift his Cyclone into Battloid mode.

The motorcycle's arrival caught everyone by surprise causing confusion because other than Cassie, no one knew what a motorcycle would do to change the situation. The attacking Bringers and Turok-Hans didn't give this new interloper any consideration as a threat, brushing it off as a mere annoyance to their main task.

That was all about to change...

#### oOoOo

Faith froze, her eyes widening in disbelief when flames shot from the back of the bike as it pulled a wheelie and jumped into the air. At first it looked to her as if the driver had lost control and the motorcycle was breaking apart. She blinked as time paused when she realized the bike was changing shape, pieces of the machine wrapping itself around its driver.

The motorcycle was now about ten feet in the air, the enormous gun from the right side of the front wheel now on the driver's right arm. At the top of the jump, the motorcycle driver did a somersault. Two tremendous blasts roared out as the gun on the driver's arm fired, cutting down a group of Bringers with the blasts.

As the world turned upside down around her, Faith noted every detail. What looked like a wheel guard had moved to the driver's left arm. It now looked more like a shield, emblazoned with the hooded Spectre of Death, it's menacing skull smiling and holding a scythe, from the way the driver held it.

Everyone froze at the unfolding scene. The "motorcycle" and its driver had landed on two feet in a combat-ready stance, aiming the gun at the now halted swarms of Bringers and vampires. Confusion reigned on both sides as everyone tried to grasp what was happening.

Coleiro recognized he had the attacking aliens off-balance and gained the tactical advantage. He wouldn't squander his advantage, activating his Cyclone's missile system...

#### oOoOo

Giles had teamed up with Robin to cover each other's backs. It surprised him to have survived this long, but that surprise paled compared to what he experienced watching the motorcycle's arrival and transformation.

He'd barely regained his composure when he saw something pop out of the driver's now armored right shoulder and deploy across the driver's helmet. He did not understand what was happening when the driver's chest popped open... then the world exploded.

Coleiro used his targeting system to lock-on the largest group of aliens, and ripple-fired four missiles from the internal racks in his chest armor. The missiles had barely left the racks when he activated his thrusters, leaping into the air.

In mid-jump, he hit his thrusters again, shifting to his left, and opened fire with his EP-40 pulse beam gun on another group of hostiles. With a target rich environment like this, he needed to track his shots. He packed a lot of firepower with his EP-40, but only carried forty-five shots per energy magazine... and he only carried three extra energy magazines.

Movement to his right caught his attention... a group of the fierce-looking aliens were getting to make another rush at the human defenders. He locked-on and fired another four missiles, the explosions ripping through their ranks.

The sight of seeing aliens still moving, having survived a wave of high explosions, stunned Coleiro. Hesitation grabbed hold as he became unsure of what to do against creatures that could survive through explosions like that.

Cassie fought the urge to shout in triumph as she watched the Cyclone cut a swath into the vampires and Bringer. She kept firing her weapon, adding to the destruction the Cyclone was unleashing. When she saw vampires survive the Cyclone's missiles, she realized Captain Coleiro didn't know what he was dealing with.

"SIR, HIT THEM IN THE CHEST OR TAKE THEIR HEADS OFF!" she shouted, hoping he would hear and understand her.

The shouting caught Coleiro's attention, and he glanced towards the voice. He caught sight of a young woman with short purple hair, holding a Gallant, waving and pointing toward the attacking creatures. He realized he'd found Lieutenant Evans, but hadn't caught everything she'd shouted.

It was only when one of her shots struck a creature in the chest, causing it to turn to dust, did he understand what she was trying to tell him. He confirmed it, firing his pulse beam weapon into the chest of another attacking creature, causing it also to explode into a dust cloud.

He'd never seen an alien vaporize like that before, and he wished there was time to question the Lieutenant to learn more. But time was something they didn't have a lot of as another group of aliens got ready to rush while the timer on his helmet display continued its countdown.

#### oOoOo

Caleb stood on the roof of the high school, watching the unfolding battle. Despite their heavy casualties, they had the Slayers, the Slayer's friends and associates along with all the Potentials surrounded with nowhere to escape. They couldn't holdout forever and it was only a matter of time and then it would be all over. His overconfidence and arrogance reflected in his thoughts, knowing everyone opposing his master's grand design would soon be dead.

_They're helpless! They can't stand against our numbers!_

Everything had changed with that damned motorcycle and its driver. Like his minions, he'd dismissed its arrival... what could one person on a motorcycle hope to accomplish? Yet, he watched in shock as this new arrival transformed into some armored man-tank, firing missiles and an energy gun, cutting down scores of Turok-Hans and Bringers.

"What in hell's name is that?" he seethed, trying to shake off the growing fear and doubt inside him.

A young woman's voice responded, "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's making a mess of our plans!"

Caleb turned, looking upon his master—The First Evil—currently assuming the form of that damned Buffy. He always wondered why his master seemed to appear to him using this form most of the time. He figured it was to taunt him because of his fixation on young girls, and what he did to them. Yet, Caleb got the impression that his master enjoyed assuming the Slayer's form and any reaction it elicited was a bonus.

Caleb turned back to the battle to witness more of their minions cut down, "What do we do?"

"I think I'll go find out who this new player is."

#### oOoOo

Coleiro fired another burst from his EP-40 and then leaped across, landing closer to the purple-haired woman wielding the Gallant.

"YOU LIEUTENANT EVANS?" he shouted to confirm his assumptions.

"YES, SIR! I'M EVANS!"

The Captain exhaled a sigh of relief at finding his wayward pilot, though not the circumstances. He moved nearer, so they didn't have to shout, "I'm Captain Coleiro, we've got a dropship at an airfield ten clicks from here. We need to leave now!"

Even with the Captain's arrival, hearing there was a dropship waiting nearby still surprised Cassie. Mixed feelings flooded through her as fighting continued to rage around her. When she glanced at Xander, it only reaffirmed her decision, "Sir, we can't leave! We can't leave these people to get slaughtered! This is Earth!"

Coleiro sighed. He'd expected trouble, but not a full on firefight with aliens, "Lieutenant, I'm well aware of what planet this is! We don't belong here. I've got a dropship and crew waiting for us. The military of this planet will figure out soon what is going on here and come to investigate! I don't plan to be around when they do, and I won't put my crew at risk! We go now!"

Xander saw Cassie engaged in what looked like a heated conversation with—for lack of a better description—the armored motorcycle guy. From the weapons the guy was carrying it was clear he was here for Cassie, but from reading her face he got the impression something was wrong.

"Are you disobeying a direct order, Lieutenant?"

Cassie didn't hesitate, even knowing she was throwing her career away along with risking being thrown in the stockade. She wouldn't turn and run out on everyone... especially Xander. She recalled the oath she'd taken when she received her commission. This wasn't her Earth, but her oath was to protect and defend humanity.

"Yes, sir! We need to help these people!" she pleaded.

Coleiro studied the look on the young Lieutenant's face, and she reminded him of his younger self. He realized if he was in her place, he would do the same thing.

Yet, they had several immediate problems to deal with. He was out of missiles with only two spare energy magazines remaining for his EP-40 and only his Gallant and CADS blade as backup weapons.

Not to mention the risk his people, back at the airport, were running. It was only a matter of time before the locals restored radar and communications. Once, they figured out what was happening they would descend on them like the wrath of God.

Oaths, honor and principals weren't weapons and ammo as he studied the Lieutenant and then glanced around, seeing this ragtag group of people still fighting. It reminded him that some things were more important... and the right thing to do sometimes required risks.

"Damn it!" he muttered, giving in to the inevitable. He hadn't planned on this contingency, but saw no alternative. Even if this wasn't his Earth, he wouldn't run away, leaving these people behind.

"How many people here?"

"Maybe thirty at the most, sir. Why?" Cassie replied.

"Do they have transport?"

Cassie picked up on where the Captain was going, "We can find some," she replied, trying to keep her excitement in check.

The Captain shook his head, still not believing what he was about to do. He did quick number crunching. It would be tight, but they could get everyone aboard the Horizant. What happened afterward would be something he would have to deal with, but right now the problem was getting everyone out of here.

"Get some vehicles and get everyone loaded! Then make your way like hell to the airport and get everyone aboard the dropship... we're taking everyone with us!"

Cassie sighed in relief. But there was still another problem to deal with, "What about these creatures? We can't let them run loose and get out of town!"

For a moment, there was the temptation to leave the problem for the local authorities. The memory of those creatures drinking that woman's blood came back and Coleiro's anger flared, "I've got my fighter at the LZ. We fall back, you and the others evacuate. I'll come back here and deal with these creatures."

A grin flashed on Cassie's face thinking how the Bringers and vampires would react when a Veritech fighter showed up here.

"Get moving, Lieutenant! Get them loaded! I'll provide rearguard!" Coleiro ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Cassie replied with a nod then turned and sprinted towards Xander while trying to catch Buffy's attention to let them know what the new plan was now.

#### oOoOo

Buffy used the time the motorcycle guy had bought from driving back the Turok-Hans and Bringers to catch her breath. The unexpected break was much appreciated, but she knew it would be short-lived as she caught sight of the creatures gathering to make another rush.

"BUFFY!"

Xander and Cassie waving for her to come over to them surprised her. A worried glance back at the vampires and Bringers told her she had a few of minutes before they attacked again as she sprinted to join the couple.

Buffy motioned towards the armored man, smirking, "He with you?"

Cassie laughed, flashing a small smile, "Yeah... he's here to evacuate me."

The news hit both Xander and Buffy hard. More so for Xander, as he wasn't sure what upset him more... being left behind or Cassie leaving.

"What about the rest of us? We could use his help!" Buffy blurted out.

Cassie's smile grew, "I've convinced the Captain to evacuate everyone! We need to get everyone loaded on vehicles and get to the airport! We've got a ship waiting there."

The world turned upside down for Buffy with Cassie's news. She was now being asked to drop everything and leave. The whole idea of running away right now left a bad taste in her mouth, and she was having difficulty reconciling it. She needed to stop the vampires and Bringers from spreading out from Sunnydale.

Buffy shook her head, "I can't leave! I need to stop them!"

Cassie understood Buffy's frustration, "I know, but there's too many of them! The Captain said he'll come back after we evacuate and deal with them."

Xander was skeptical of the idea, "He'll need something a lot bigger if he's going to stop them by himself!"

Cassie's huge grin caught Xander and Buffy both by surprise, "Yeah... I don't think you need to worry about that," she replied.

#### oOoOo

The changing situation caused Giles nothing but confusion. One moment they were in a frenzied fight for survival against unending waves of Bringers and Turok-Hans. Now, there was a lull in the fighting because of the strange motorcycle and its driver. He'd watched as Cassie and the newcomer talked and the realization struck him this must be one of her people come to find her. His confusion grew as Cassie ran and gathered Xander and Buffy together to discuss something.

A sense that something important was happening gripped him as Buffy and Xander now ran towards him. The last thing he expected to hear was to get vehicles and get everybody to the airport. Much like Buffy, Giles felt the situation spinning out of control as he tried to understand what was going on. He wanted to ask questions, but Xander rushed off to see Robin while Buffy ran back to help defend the perimeter. His frustration reached a breaking point he wanted to yell for a timeout, so he could have a moment to think and get control of the situation.

His wishful thought evaporated as Bringers and Turok-Hans made another rush at them. The night filled with energy weapons fire as Cassie and the newcomer stood their ground against the attack. Giles put his confusion and frustration on hold and went to work. He gathered the Potentials to move to a spot that Xander picked out for everyone to gather at.

While Giles got the Potentials, Xander, after talking to Robin, gathered up Anya, Willow, Dawn and Andrew. Buffy, Faith and Spike continued to fight, assisting Cassie and the newcomer against the renewed attacks.

It was a confused mess as Giles tried to track down all the Potentials. As he tried to get a head count, he knew they'd lost girls, dragged off by vampires and Bringers who'd gotten in the perimeter. He urged the girls to follow him as energy weapon beams lit up the night and roars from the Turok-Hans created a hellish surreal scene.

To this chaos came another noise, with Giles and the others turning to see an approaching yellow school bus. Giles blinked in surprise, seeing Robin behind the wheel of the bus. Luck had been in their favor because Robin still had keys for one of school buses parked nearby.

While Potentials hurriedly boarded the school bus, Giles turned to watch the fighting as Cassie and their armored savior lay down fire, tearing into the attacking ranks. He'd always been dubious of the effectiveness of guns against vampires, but the energy weapons were showing their effectiveness in taking out Turok-Hans. The bus horn honking grabbed his attention as he made sure everyone was onboard and tried to do another head count.

#### oOoOo

As she helped the Captain hold the perimeter, Cassie kept glancing back at the large yellow vehicle as people boarded. Her Gallant stopped firing, and she realized she'd exhausted her last energy magazine.

"SIR, I'M OUT!" she yelled, trying to catch the Captain's attention.

Coleiro, keeping an eye on the vehicle boarding and the countdown timer, heard the Lieutenant's cry. He didn't hesitate, tossing his Gallant to her. She grabbed it out of the air, spinning and firing at a group of Bringers that tried to exploit her lack of fire.

As attackers retreated, Coleiro detected movement at the edges of the darkness where vehicles still burned or now smoldered. He figured the enemy was rethinking its wave attacks. It looked from their movements they were switching to probing attacks... trying to find a weak point in the defense to exploit.

_Time to get the hell out of here..._

"Lieutenant, fallback and board the vehicle! I'll cover and follow. Make sure you don't stop for anything until you're at the airfield! Understood?"

The Captain opened a radio channel to Sergeant Bronowski to tell them to get ready to expect guests and to warn them about the aliens. He could hear the disbelief in the Sergeant's voice over the channel as he explained the situation. He reinforced the point that everyone was to get aboard the dropship with no one left behind.

Xander boarded the bus, entering a mass of confusion as everyone crowded for space. Dawn, Willow, and several of the Potentials were applying first-aid to those injured during the fighting. He kept peering out the windows, anxiously looking for Cassie. Relief filled him seeing her sprinting for the bus. He pushed his way back through the crowd to meet her at the door. She flashed him a smile as she boarded.

He stepped out of the bus, shouting for Buffy, Faith and Spike, telling them it was time to leave before stepping back aboard. As he got on, he gave Robin a look, "Are we there yet?" he said, smirking.

Robin rolled his eyes as Xander joined Cassie in a seat towards the back of the bus. He'd barely sat down when Spike and Buffy jumped aboard.

"THAT'S EVERYONE... I THINK!" Buffy shouted, catching her breath.

As the doors closed and Robin put the bus in gear, a strange sensation hit Xander. It was that itch you got when you left the house and thought you forgot something. The sensation only grew more intense as the bus pulled away. He stood up, checking the bus for people.

_Okay, there's Anya... Willow... Dawn... Spike... Andrew... Giles... Buffy... Cassie... Yup, they're... Ah, hell! Where's Faith?_

The itch turned to dread as the realization sank in. He didn't hesitate, "STOP THE BUS! WE FORGOT FAITH!"

#### oOoOo

Coleiro backed up towards the vehicle while maintaining his fire on the enemy to hold them off long enough for the vehicle to get some distance. He heaved a sigh of relief, seeing the vehicle pulling away. He was on his last energy magazine for the EP-40, and the sooner they could get out of here, the better. Once everyone else was clear, he planned to use his thrusters to leapfrog out of here before he shifted his Cyclone back into travel mode.

What he didn't expect was the vehicle screech to a stop and the rear emergency exit fly open. A brief flash that an alien boarded the vehicle filled him with alarm. The worry shifted to confusion when Lieutenant Evans and a man with an eye patch popped out of the door, calling out.

"FAITH! FAITH, WHERE ARE YOU?"

He needed to know what was going on before the situation deteriorated on them and they got swarmed. Coleiro made a short quick jump, landing closer to the bus. He kept his attention on the enemy in case they rushed forward, "What the hell is going on? Why aren't you moving?"

Xander answered, "We're missing someone!"

"Damn it!" Coleiro muttered, worrying about the situation turning sideways on them, "Where did you last see them?"

Cassie shrugged, but Xander spoke up, pointing, "She was on our right... towards that cemetery."

Coleiro fired another burst at the gathering horde of creatures to hold them off, "Description? Name?"

"Her name's Faith... Brunette... you can't miss her," Xander replied.

"Okay, I'll get her! You get moving... now!"

Cassie and Xander both nodded and closed the door. Moments later, the bus moved again.

Coleiro waited for the bus to get speed and distance from him before he went off searching for the missing person. To help with his search, he activated his missile targeting system, deploying from his right shoulder across his helmet visor. The targeting system had infrared capabilities, which would help with his search.

#### oOoOo

Faith had gone off to rescue a Potential who'd been dragged off by a pair of Bringers. Luck and timing were against her as she arrived to witness the Bringers slash and stab the young girl to death. She vented her anger and frustration on the pair, killing both.

Unfortunately, after dispatching the Bringers, a pair of Turok-Hans arrived on the scene. The realization sank in she was now on her own, separated from the group.

In a rare moment of self-preservation, she decided on discretion and not take on a pair of vampires with no backup. She sprinted away from the vampires, trying to circle back around to rejoin Buffy and the others.

Her luck continued on its downward spiral as the vampires pursued her, forcing her further away from the group. She tried losing them by cutting through a cemetery, and for a moment, she thought she'd ditched them.

Three Bringers, jumping from the shadows, brandishing knifes, proved her wrong. She had no choice but to take on the Bringers as they slashed at her. She put them down, but it allowed the Turok-Hans to catch up. This time she couldn't run away as they boxed her in. She tensed up, readying herself as she studied the vampires circling her. A man's voice caught her by surprise.

"Facing quite the predicament, aren't you?"

Faith spun to find Richard Wilkins III, the former—and dead—mayor of Sunnydale, standing there with a smirk plastered across his face. She realized it was The First Evil impersonating the Mayor, using his form. The First had tried this before, trying to mess with her.

It hit her that this was probably the end of the line for her. She'd always figured she would die alone, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She tried to think of some last words to go out on.

_Saying "Go fuck yourself" just doesn't seem to convey the right sentiment,_ she thought, eyeing the vampires and readying herself.

She picked up on the subtle changes in their movements and body positions and sensed they were getting ready to strike. Before they could attack, Faith's world turned upside down as two bolts of light came from the sky striking both vampires, dead-center, turning them into expanding dust clouds. She looked up in surprise to see the armored motorcycle driver descending from the night sky, landing beside her. Her mouth was still hanging open when the driver spoke to her.

"Your name, Faith?"

The First responded before her brain clued in, "Well, it looks like you've found yourself a new hero," the image of Mayor Wilkins sneered.

Faith blinked as the motorcycle driver raised his weapon, pointing it at The First's head. The Mayor's image only expressed disdain as it looked down the barrel of the weapon. She jumped when she heard a click, realizing the driver pulled the trigger, but she was even more surprised when nothing happened.

"Oh, dear... it looks like our hero's gun doesn't work anymore. I wonder how will he defend himself and the fair Faith now." The First sneered.

For Faith, things became direr with five Turok-Hans emerging from the shadows, advancing towards them. She wasn't liking their odds, especially with her would-be savior now out of ammo for his fancy gun. The vampires spread out as they closed the distance. She took a deep breath to ready herself for the fight.

Things took a strange turn as her would-be savior stepped forward, assuming a combat stance holding the wheel guard up like a shield. She admired the balls the guy had, but didn't know what he hoped to accomplish with this move. A huge sword blade shot from the end of the shield, startling her. Her eyes took in the blade as it vibrated, giving off a slight glow.

_I've got to get me one of those,_ Faith thought incredulously, wondering if she was dreaming all this.

#### oOoOo

It had taken some effort for Coleiro to find and catch up to the woman. He'd picked up her heat signature with his tracking systems and saw she was being chased.

That turned out to be the easy part because she was moving like she was the one wearing the power armor and he had to push himself to catch up. He knew he was almost out of ammo when he jumped in to take out the creatures circling the woman, but it was a straightforward decision to make.

What Coleiro hadn't expected was to find a man standing there too, as he'd hadn't picked up any other heat signatures on his approach. He got the sense that something else was going on and this man was different and linked with or working for the aliens. It was unfortunate he'd used his last shots on the creatures as he wanted to burn a hole through the guy's smirking face.

Any further thoughts about the smirking man faded as more creatures rushed him and the woman. He turned to deal with the threat, using the last weapon he had left... the Close Assault and Defense System or CADS blade.

#### oOoOo

Faith stepped into the closest vampire rushing her, catching it in the head with a vicious spin kick sending it staggering backwards. As she came out of her move, the sight of the motorcycle driver slicing a vampire in half with his blade greeted her. She watched in awe as the guy spun in a Slayer-type move, catching another vampire and gutting it.

The CADS blade cut easily through the aliens. They could cut through Invid mecha armor and the walls of Invid hives. The three remaining creatures appeared more wary as Coleiro faced them. He knew he could dispatch them, but his sensors picked up more rushing towards them. The timer counting down was also another reminder he had no more time to waste.

_Definitely time to get the hell out of here,_ he thought, choosing the only option available.

Faith was looking forward to seeing more vampires sliced-and-diced. The last thing she expected was her would-be savior to scoop her up in his arms. Before she could say or do anything they launched up into the night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	14. Out of the frying pan...

## CHAPTER FOURTEEN  
Out of the frying pan...

_"_ _I kept thinking,_ 'who the hell does this guy think he is?' _. Yeah, he may have arrived just in time and saved my ass. But the whole Superhero-thing where he grabs me and rockets into the air was taking it too far! At least, that was until I got to know him."_

— Faith Lehane

#### oOoOo

Coleiro was busy keeping an eye out for obstacles as his thrusters roared to put some distance between them and the aliens. His struggling passenger added to his workload, not helping the situation. He wasn't using his thrusters at full burn to avoid causing discomfort or injuries to his passenger. This resulted in traveling slower than usual while trying to find a spot to set down.

"HEY! I WANT DOWN!" the woman shouted, her voice drowned out by the Cyclone's thrusters and the wind whipping around them. She punched him in the shoulder to emphasize her point. Coleiro grunted, surprised to feel the punch through his armor.

The thought of dropping his squirming, reluctant passenger into a pool or lake tempted him as he kept his grip. He focused his attention back on orienting his position and finding a landing spot. He located a road that seemed to give him a route back to the airport. It appeared clear of aliens... for now.

As he came in for a landing, his passenger struggled even more. Her strength caught him by surprise when he had to exert himself more to keep his grip on her. They were only a few feet above the ground when she broke loose of his hold. A moment of panic filled the Captain as the woman hit the ground hard. She bounced up, recovering and brushing herself off.

Coleiro shook off his worry and surprise as he made his landing and shifted his Cyclone back into motorcycle mode...

#### oOoOo

Faith's pride was the only thing bruised as she hit the ground hard. She was back up, brushing the dirt off her as the motorcycle driver come in for a landing. She watched, puzzled, as the driver knelt down. Her eyes widen in shock as the motorcycle unwrapped itself from around the driver. In a matter of seconds, the driver stood next to a recognizable motorcycle.

_It has to be magic! No machine can do that!_ she thought, shaking her head in awe and disbelief.

She continued staring at the motorcycle, not realizing the driver was speaking to her as he got on the machine.

"Huh?"

"You getting on?"

Faith couldn't see the driver's face behind the tinted visor covered with the Skull emblem and she was unsure about what was happening, "What?"

"It's a long walk, and I don't think you want to be hanging around here. This neighborhood isn't too friendly."

Faith looked at the tinted visor, still confused, "What're you talking about? Where're we going?"

An exasperated sigh came from the driver, "I don't have a lot of time to explain, but the quick and dirty is everyone is heading to the airport. We're meeting up with them and getting the hell out of Dodge! Now, tick tock, the clock is ticking," the driver said, motioning to the seat behind him.

Things were moving too fast for Faith, but the distant roars of Turok-Hans focused her attention. She realized that anywhere was better than staying here. She pushed any doubts or hesitations aside for now as she got on the motorcycle.

The driver started the bike and revved the throttle, "Hold tight, I'm going to punch it!"

Faith snorted out of reflex. Every guy she'd ever met with a bike talked a good game, but hadn't known jack about driving. Yet, she got a different vibe from the driver as this wasn't any normal bike and remembering how he'd driven into town. There was still hesitation, but she settled in behind the driver and got a grip. She'd barely settled in when the motorcycle shot off like a rocket.

#### oOoOo

Coleiro grunted as his passenger's strength again caught him by surprise as she tightened her grip around his waist when he gunned the Cyclone. For a split second, he almost lost control of his Cyclone, but caught it and compensated without losing a step.

It was years since he'd last driven with a passenger as he realized he was a little out of practice. This brought back memories of Sonia and how she used to hold him tight when they went for rides back on their Earth and Tirol.

He quickly pushed those memories and feelings away, concentrating on his driving and the road as he increased his speed, leaning further down as they moved faster. A small smirk flashed on his face as his passenger leaned in closer, moving with him and not fighting him as he drove.

_At least she knows how to ride_ , Coleiro thought, trying to keep his focus on the road.

The radio coming to life caught his attention as Sergeant Bronowski's anxious and excited voice filled his helmet.

_"_ _Reaper-One, this is Ground-One. Do you read me over?"_

"Reaper-One, here. What's the situation, Sergeant?"

_"_ _The LZ is hot! I repeat, the LZ is hot! We've got aliens on the field!"_

Coleiro stiffened, trying to maintain his focus on the road as thoughts of those aliens swarming the airfield filled his head, "Can you hold the LZ, Sergeant? Casualties?"

_"_ _Yes, sir! So far, we've had no WIAs or KIAs. Those aliens you warned us about tried making a rush at us, but we gave them a rude welcome. They're now trying to come at us in small groups. We're having no problems holding, but I wouldn't leave it too long!"_

"Did our house guests show up yet?"

_"_ _Not yet, sir!"_

_Damn it,_ Coleiro thought, trying to figure out how more sideways this mission could go.

"Sergeant, continue to hold the LZ! Let me know when our house guests show up. We'll be there in less than ten."

The Sergeant picked up on the plural usage, _"We? Sir?"_

"Long story, Sergeant. If the situation changes, let me know. Reaper-One out."

_"_ _Yes, sir! Ground-One, out."_

#### oOoOo

Faith tried resisting the urge to scream out in delight as they roared down the road. She'd been on bikes before, both driving and as a passenger, but this was the wildest ride she'd ever been on.

_This guy knows how to drive... this is almost as good as sex!_

With her leaning close, holding tight, she picked up on the change in the driver's body language. His body tensing didn't forebode good news.

"What's wrong?" she shouted over the engine and wind whipping past. She wasn't sure if he'd understood her and was about to ask again when the driver replied.

"Trouble! We've got company at the airport!"

Faith didn't know how the driver knew there was a problem at their destination, but then tonight was one confusing and unbelievable thing after another, "Are we still heading there?"

"Yeah, our ride is there. It'll be fine."

Despite her confusion and hesitation, something in the driver's voice reassured her. She was still trying to figure out why they were heading to the airport and what was so important there. She wanted to ask him the question, but the driver increased their speed even more and her focus became keeping her grip and staying on the bike.

#### oOoOo

Sergeant Bronowski used the lull to check-in with the rest of the security team. So far there'd been no causalities from the aliens. The Sergeant gave a small prayer of thanks the Captain had given them a heads up about the aliens running around. They'd been ready when the first rush had come.

Bronowski shuddered, recalling the first time he'd seen the aliens as they rushed from the darkness, trying to overwhelm him and his team. He'd seen his fair share of strange-looking aliens, plus having fought the Invid, he'd seen them in mecha and natural state.

Those paled compared to these creatures attacking them. These aliens evoked a sense of wrongness in him... a cloud of evil hung over the creatures for lack of a better description.

When the aliens rushed them, the Sergeant and the rest of the security team held their fire until the aliens were halfway to their positions. To prepare for the ground security role, he'd overloaded his team with weapons and ammo. He was a firm believer in being prepared for any contingency, and that superior firepower resolved any surprises encountered in combat.

He gave the order to fire in a calm controlled voice...

REF particle beam weapons, rocket launchers, missiles and Gatling machine guns erupted, filling the night with thunder and lightning, across the runway and around the airport.

They easily crushed the first attack in a matter of seconds. During the lull, he used the time to have his troopers shift positions and reload. Using their sensors and optics, they picked up groups of aliens gathering to prepare for another attack. Two of his troopers, using their Cyclone missile systems, blanketed the area with high-explosive missiles.

The Sergeant adjusted his tactics to deal with these aliens. Normally, he would have dispersed his troopers to avoid bunching up for Invid plasma weapons. From what he'd discerned of the aliens, only one of the alien-types carried weapons, and those were only knifes and swords. If the enemy decided on playing dumb, Bronowski wouldn't complain, taking advantage to group his troopers up to concentrate their firepower.

The Sergeant was a veteran and a pragmatist. There wasn't even a twinge of guilt over using such a superiority in firepower to crush the attackers. If anyone wanted to attack him, then they got whatever they deserved.

Even if the aliens didn't arm themselves properly, they weren't dumb. Since the first attack, they were learning, making rushes in small groups to catch the defenders by surprise. Most of these rushes were by the uglier and meaner-looking aliens. Bronowski and his troopers ruthlessly crushed each attempt.

As quiet descended again over the airport, Bronowski's anxiousness grew. Despite being relieved knowing the Captain was on his way, their "guests" hadn't arrived. He still had no clue what happened in town, but after encountering the aliens he realized it must have been bad for the Captain to bring locals with him.

His radio crackling put on hold any further worries and considerations, _"Sergeant, I've got a vehicle approaching from the South-East."_

"Okay, Jenkins. Can you tell if it's civilian or military?"

_"_ _Definitely civilian, Sergeant. It looks like one of those old style yellow school buses from those pre-war vids."_

A small sigh of relief escaped the Sergeant, "Okay, everyone heads up! We've got incoming friendlies. Keep your heads up and eyes open."

The words barely left his mouth when another voice filled the channel, _"WE'VE GOT INCOMING!"_

#### oOoOo

Robin was pushing to get as much as he could out of the old school bus. His foot was hard down on the accelerator, trying to coax more from the engine as it labored hard.

They were pushing fifty miles per hour, but it still seemed like they were crawling. He kept his eyes focused on the road, but the sounds of girls sobbing and moaning in pain filled his ears.

He was still trying to figure out why they were heading to the airport. All he knew was that it had something to do with Cassie and the strange motorcycle. Xander hadn't given him much info other than "grab a vehicle" and "get everyone to the airport". He replayed the motorcycle's arrival over in his head. Along with being familiar with demons, vampires and magic, he was also a rational modern man knowledgeable with science. He had no explanation for what he'd witnessed as it defied any magic or science he was familiar with.

As he struggled with the bus, Giles joined him, "How much further?"

"Should be just up around this bend. We should be able to see it," Robin replied, hearing Giles exhale a sigh of relief.

"Do you know why we're headed out here?"

Giles shrugged, "I'm not sure, but that... ummm... motorcyclist was one of Cassie's people. All I got from Xander was that he said to head out here. They mentioned something about getting out of here."

This didn't clear up any of Robin's confusion. He put his confusion on hold as they came around a bend and caught sight of Sunnydale Airport.

Except for a few lights, the airport was dark. As they drove parallel to the main runway, Robin could have sworn there were fires burning in the distance. A few hangers lining the runway blocked their view, but as they cleared them they got an unobstructed view of the main runway to the terminal building.

Even in the darkness, they could make out the silhouette of a huge aircraft sitting on the far side of the airfield, parked close to the main terminal.

"Holy shit!" Robin muttered, staring at the huge aircraft before noticing a smaller aircraft parked next to it.

"Yes, indeed," Giles muttered in agreement, staring at the huge aircraft as the reality of the situation was just now hitting him. It was one thing for Cassie to say she was from an alternate Earth and traveled in space, it was another to have the evidence in front of you.

Robin shook off his shock to turn the bus down an auxiliary road, leading to a gate opening on to the field. Luck appeared to be on their side as the gate was open. A sigh of relief escaped as he drove through the gate and on to the field. It looked like they had a clear path across the tarmac.

Screams filled the bus as something hit it, sending the bus careening and staggering. Robin fought to keep control of the bus as they lurched their way across the tarmac.

Another hit sent the bus staggering again. Robin strained with the steering wheel as he fought to keep the vehicle straight. He knew he was losing the battle as he felt the bus tipping.

"HANG ON EVERYONE!" he screamed, losing his battle with the bus as it tipped over...

The bus hit the ground with a jarring crash, sliding on its side as its momentum carried it forward some distance before coming to a stop. Inside, screams and shouts echoed as the crash tossed and threw people around.

Robin held on for dear life as the bus slide. When it finally stopped, he recovered from his shock, checking the bus and looking towards the exits. He recognized the roars coming from outside the bus and worried if they would get out of the bus alive and what would happen next.

Suddenly, the entire world around the bus erupted in fire and explosions...

#### oOoOo

"OPEN FIRE! COVER THAT VEHICLE!" Bronowski screamed over the radio, watching in horror as waves of aliens rushed towards their positions and the wrecked vehicle. The Sergeant recovered from his shock at having watched several creatures attack and ram the bus with their bodies, upending it on its side.

Missiles and rockets roared out, aimed at the edges of the runway where the creatures were streaming from. Explosions tore into their ranks, but the aliens continued their rush. It seemed as if they were more intent on getting to the bus passengers than taking on the REF troopers. The soldiers directed plasma and M-100 Gatling gun fire to cover the bus, creating a wall of energy beams and bullets to hold off the attacking creatures.

Bronowski was debating what to do when the door on the back of the bus swung open. The door on the top side of the bus followed, and people crawled out of both exits, trying to escape the vehicle.

"KEEP FIRING! KEEP THOSE PEOPLE COVERED!" Bronowski yelled, spraying the open areas around the bus with his Gatling gun, adding to the wall of firepower holding back the attackers.

#### oOoOo

As explosions erupted around the bus, Cassie forced the back exit door open. Her head was ringing from the crash and noise as she crawled out of the bus. She dropped to the ground from the door, trying to recover from the crash as a battle raged around her.

Fire and explosions filled the world as rockets and missiles streaked across the tarmac. She recognized the sounds of pulse particle beam weapons firing close to her position. Glancing around, she witnessed the impact of the weapons fire as it devastated the ranks of Turok-Hans streaming on to the airfield.

She blinked, taking in the beautiful sight of a Horizont dropship and an Alpha fighter within an easy run from their position. The problem was that not everyone could run as moaning and crying from inside the bus focused her attention on getting everyone out first. She turned back to see Xander crawling out the exit, joining her. They both joined in helping pull people out of the bus.

Buffy was towards the front of the bus when it crashed. After shaking off the crash, she moved towards the front door... now on the ceiling.

She reached up, using brute strength, and forced the door open, pulling herself up and out of the bus. The intense fighting going on around her distracted her for a moment, but she shook it off and pulled people out.

She was lying on her stomach, leaning into the bus when she caught sight of Giles. He was helping Robin, getting people untangled and out from their seats, then directing them towards the exits.

"GILES, WHERE'S DAWN!?" Buffy yelled, worry and fear for her sister filled her thoughts.

Giles caught her shouts and looked around the bus, trying to remember where he'd seen Dawn sitting before the crash. Through the dim light and the smoke drifting in, he glimpsed Dawn and Willow helping others out the rear exit door.

"SHE'S TOWARDS THE BACK. SHE'S GOING OUT THE BACK DOOR!" he shouted, catching her eye.

Buffy heaved a sigh of relief as she continued helping people out of the bus...

#### oOoOo

Sergeant Bronowski watched as people exited the bus, staggering their way across the field towards his position. Observing wounded among the people, he took matters into his own hands. He fired a burst from his Gatling gun then hit his thrusters, jumping closer to the vehicle and the people trying to escape.

He landed in front of the lead group of people, escaping the wrecked bus. They froze in surprise at the armored behemoth carrying a huge Gatling gun. Bronowski shook them out of their daze, "KEEP MOVING! MOVE TO THE SHIP! DON'T STOP!" he ordered, waving them to move towards the Horizont.

As people streamed past him, he couldn't help noting that a majority of them were young women. He stood his ground acting as a beacon for the people escaping the bus, directing them to the dropship, urging them to hurry. The whole time, he kept firing at threats or targets of opportunity. It still amazed him at how the meaner-looking aliens vaporized to dust when killed. He wasn't aware of any alien species that turned to dust when killed.

"Sergeant!"

Bronowski turned towards the voice. Another young woman with purple-hair woman approached him, "Yes." he replied unsure of what the woman wanted.

"Sergeant, I'm Lieutenant Evans."

Bronowski's attitude immediately switched, "Yes, ma'am!"

"You talk to Captain Coleiro?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's less than ten minutes out. Get your people aboard. We've got a medic to help with the wounded."

"Thank you, Sergeant!" Cassie replied, heaving a sigh of relief, knowing she was close to safety, as she took in the beautiful lines of the Horizont. Exhaustion pulled at her, but she kept her focus on the task at hand, turning back to help the others get to the dropship.

#### oOoOo

In the mass confusion, Anya was one of the last ones to exit the bus. She wasn't alone as she pushed and dragged an injured Andrew with her. Blood streaked her arms and legs from the cuts and gashes she suffered when the bus crashed. It mixed with blood coming from the nasty gash on Andrew's forehead. Aches and pains flared through her body from being thrown around when the bus tipped over. Tiredness weighed on her as she struggled with Andrew.

Despite his head injuries, she'd snapped him out of his shock and got him to focus. It took more exertion to get him to the exit. She got a sense of satisfaction hearing his body hit the ground hard when she pushed him out the exit. The satisfaction was only brief as she again struggled to get him to his feet and moving.

"Okay Andrew, we have to get moving!" Anya urged, pointing in the direction where everyone else was moving towards, trying to get him to focus.

"My legs don't want to move... everything is spinning," Andrew muttered.

Anya didn't need to hear Andrew to know he was in trouble as she carried more of his body weight. A small voice echoed from the back of her head, telling her to leave him behind and save herself.

For a split second, it tempted her, but shook it off, putting Andrew's arm around her neck and lifting him to a standing position. Her muscles ached and strained as they staggered towards the big plane everyone was heading to.

With every step, Anya gasped for breath as the strain added to the pain her body was experiencing. Her legs burned, and it was getting harder to walk as sweat drenched her body. Her personal hell seemed to mirror the insanity raging around them.

"Come on you talking flesh bag! Help me out here!" Anya grunted, digging deep to keep moving. Andrew's head slumped and for a moment she thought he was dead. That wishful prognosis changed as she noticed his chest still moving.

_You had to be alive, didn't you! Just my luck, damn it!_ she thought wearily, continuing to drag him to safety.

Her legs gave out and Anya stumbled with both of them falling hard to the ground. A dazed Anya lay there for a moment, wishing she could find a nice bed to crawl into.

_Just need to catch my breath..._

Anya struggled to get back to her knees. Thoughts of calling for help came, but the gap between her and the others was too great and they wouldn't be able to hear her over the fighting. She took deep breaths, finding the strength to stand and then get Andrew to his feet.

Any self-congratulatory thoughts evaporated as a growling sound pierced the thick smoke swirling around the field. Anya turned her and Andrew towards the approaching growling. Her heart pounded as a Turok-Han came rushing out of the smoke towards them.

Anya saw death coming for them. This sparked a burst of adrenaline, giving her the strength to push Andrew away just as the vampire ran into them. Anya tangled up with the vampire and they both tumbled to the ground...

Everything moved in slow motion as she struggled to free herself. Suddenly, she lay on her back and free of the vampire. That freedom was brief as she tried getting up and the vampire pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. Anya wanted to scream, but she was too tired and scared. Her eyes locked on the Turok-Han's fangs as they hungered for her blood. She knew this was the end. Just like The First had taunted her... she would die alone.

Everything went sideways as an angry voice shouted out, "LEAVE THE LADY ALONE!"

An armored fist catching the vampire in the side of the head followed, sending the creature flying off her.

Confusion filled Anya's thoughts as a thunderous buzz-saw sound filled the air. She turned her head enough to see the vampire shredded, exploding into a cloud of dust.

A helmeted head, looking down at her, filled her vision. Along with her confusion now came light-headedness. The pain and exhaustion won out as it told her body to close her eyes. Anya didn't argue or fight it, deciding it was a good idea as she slid into unconsciousness.

#### oOoOo

Sergeant Bronowski studied the unconscious woman, saying a silent prayer for his timing. At the last moment, he'd seen the woman struggling to help an injured person, witnessing her push the injured man clear as the alien ran into them.

Her bravery in the face of impending death struck him to his core. The scene caused something inside him to snap as he rushed in. It was only the woman's proximity that kept him from using his Gatling gun. While he couldn't fire, he was in Battloid mode and put all his strength into the punch he swung at the alien's head, sending the creature flying. Once he had a clean shot, he wasted the creature with a long burst of fire.

Bronowski called in another trooper to carry out the injured young man. With everyone now clear of the bus wreck, he picked up the unconscious woman and hit his thrusters, leaping back towards the dropship.

#### oOoOo

Faith was having the ride of her life as the motorcycle roared down the dark road with no pauses or hesitation shown by the driver.

_I wonder if he'll let me take his bike out for a little spin..._

Thoughts of joyrides faded as they made a turn and she saw the airport. The sounds of fighting grew louder with rockets, energy beams and tracers streaking across the sky. Fires raged along the edges of the airfield and parts of the tree line surrounding the airport.

She expected they would stop or change direction to avoid the war zone, not for the driver to gun the throttle. The motorcycle roared into the smoke that was drifting everywhere from the fighting.

Faith was blind as they drove through the smoke, but she sensed the threats around them as the driver made quick adjustments. In moments, they cleared the smoke and Faith noted they were heading towards a huge airplane with a smaller jet parked next to it.

She then noticed a yellow school bus turned on its side, and for a moment she feared the worse. Relief filled her, recognizing the group of people moving towards the large plane. Mixed among and around the people were others geared up like the motorcycle driver, firing an array of bigger and meaner-looking weapons to cover them.

Her confusion grew when she noticed people boarding the large, strange-looking plane. The realization hit her about what the motorcycle driver meant when he said _"getting the hell out of Dodge"_... they would fly out of here!

She barely had time to digest this reality when they pulled up to the strange-looking plane. Her eyes took in the plane, noting the long neck connecting the front of the plane with the back. When she saw the huge engine nozzles, shock hit her as she realized this was a spacecraft.

Staring in awe at the ship, she didn't notice the driver getting off the bike. It took another moment to realize he was talking to her.

"Huh? What?"

Faith thought she caught a chuckle from the driver. She wondered about him as she looked at his tinted skull emblazoned visor.

"I said, time to get off. We're here and you need to board the dropship."

"Get in that? T-That thing?" Faith exclaimed, staring back at the craft.

"Yeah, that's your ride out of here," the driver replied, his impatience and frustration leaking through in his tone.

Faith was about to tell the guy to take the stick out of his ass, but a familiar voice caught her before she could. Buffy, with Potentials—some of them injured—were approaching, and this shifted her attention. She forgot about the driver, jumping off the bike to help.

#### oOoOo

Coleiro shook his head, watching the brunette run to go help her people. As he watched her run the sounds of the fighting faded, but reality returned as Sergeant Bronowski landed nearby with his thrusters firing. The Captain arched an eye in surprise, seeing the Sergeant carrying an unconscious woman. He approached the Sergeant to get an update on their situation.

"Sergeant, SITREP?"

Despite having an unconscious woman in his arms, Bronowski came to attention, "Sir! We're holding the perimeter for now, but our ammo won't last forever. We're loading the wounded first, then the rest of the civilians. Those aliens may try to rush us when my security team tries to load."

Visions of what those aliens had done to the young woman back in town danced in Coleiro's head. A flash of anger filled him as he recalled his promise to Lieutenant Evans to not let the creatures spread from the town.

"Sergeant, hurry the loading of our passengers. Load my Cyclone on the dropship. Don't worry about the enemy... I'll clear the field."

Bronowski flashed a small smile as he came to attention, "Yes, sir! Understood, sir!" he replied. The Sergeant headed to the Horizont's loading area with the unconscious woman to have the medic look at her. Coleiro sprinted for his fighter...

#### oOoOo

Xander was too busy to appreciate he was standing next to a spacecraft as he helped load people on to it. His attention shifted as one of Cassie's people strode up, carrying Anya in his armored arms.

A wave of mixed emotions and old memories washed over Xander as he rushed over to check on Anya. Guilt filled him at seeing her unconscious condition. It caught him off-guard when the soldier thrust her into his arms.

"Get her aboard! The medic will take care of her. I have to get back on the perimeter!"

Xander snapped out of his shock, nodding as he took Anya and carried her over to the ship's loading entrance. A loud roaring noise caused him to stop and turn... the smaller jet was performing a vertical take-off. Anger and frustration bubbled to the surface watching one of Cassie's people bug out before they'd loaded everyone aboard the larger ship.

_The bastard is running off and leaving us!_

His anger didn't last long as the jet stopped rising, hovering fifty feet above the runway. He almost dropped Anya when the plane changed its shape. In what seemed like seconds there was no jet... there was now a huge robot hovering above the ground, carrying an enormous gun in one hand.

#### oOoOo

Faith was helping to load a wounded Potential aboard the spaceship. She turned to help the next person and noticed that everyone was staring towards the runway.

From her position, she couldn't see what was grabbing everyone's attention. Her curiosity was now hooked, so she moved to get a better view of what everyone was looking at.

As she cleared the hull of the ship, she froze seeing a huge robot descending to the ground. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, but as she regained her composure, she noticed the smaller jet was missing.

Her mind put the pieces together as the robot's black and red colors were the same as the jet. When she saw the skull emblazoned on the robot's chest did she realize who was driving the machine.

She'd thought the shape-changing motorcycle was badass, but this was something different noting the gigantic gun the robot carried as it landed and strode across the runway.

_Holy crap!_ Faith thought, watching as the robot moved as if it were alive, swiveling its head from side-to-side, taking in the surrounding area.

Everyone held their breath as the robot raised its gun and opened fire on the far side of the runway. Out of reflex, she cringed and covered her ears as the robot's gun blasted the tree line with explosions erupting along the runway and among the trees.

#### oOoOo

Still carrying Anya, Xander fought the reflex to drop to the ground for cover as the robot continued firing. He'd barely regained his composure when a hand touched his shoulder, causing him to jump, almost dropping Anya. He spun to find Cassie giving him an apologetic expression.

"Sorry, I startled you," she said, trying to talk over the weapons fire in the background.

Xander stared at her, trying to keep his composure, while continually glancing at the robot, "Am I imagining things or wasn't that robot just a plane a few moments ago?"

A grin flashed on Cassie's face, "Yeah, that's an Alpha. It's the standard fighter used by the REF."

It took a moment for the info to register in Xander's brain, but his eye widen in surprise as he put everything together, "Y-You said fighter? T-That's what you fly?"

Cassie's grin grew bigger, nodding to confirm his question.

Xander looked at the robot again before turning to face Cassie. He was seeing her in a whole new light as he grasped the implications, glancing back at the robot-plane that now patrolled the far side of the airfield.

The robot's movements looked so human like as he studied it, finding his curiosity and imagination stoked by the thought of planes that could transform into giant robots. He jerked when Cassie placed her hand on his arm, leading him towards the dropship's loading area. Even then, he still took backward glances of the robot-plane as it continued to secure the airfield.

#### oOoOo

Captain Coleiro used his Alpha's sensors to scan the airfield and surrounding area. He'd cleared the remaining creatures from around the airfield. Even with his scanners detecting no threats, he continued walking the perimeter while loading operations continued. Minutes passed, then came the call over the radio channel he'd been waiting for.

_"_ _Reaper-One... Pelican-One here. Loading is complete. We're ready for take-off."_

Coleiro let out a sigh of relief, "Understood Pelican-One. How are you doing with the guests and added weight?"

_"_ _It's tight, but we've got everybody situated. The wounded are in the Cyclone infantry bay. It's a good thing we don't have far to go,"_ the pilot replied.

"Okay, fire up your thrusters and make for the rendezvous altitude, I'll stay here and cover your take-off... I'll meet up with you," Coleiro added.

Pelican-One's pilot picked up on the Captain's tone, _"What's up, sir? Anything wrong?"_

A predatory look flashed on the Captain's face, "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just going to take a detour to go back into town. I want to give my regards to our alien friends," Coleiro replied.

Pelican-One chuckled, _"Understood, Reaper-One... give them our regards too."_

#### oOoOo

Coulson frowned as he studied the huge display map. From the garbled few reports they got from the military and civilian radio channels, the fighters were reporting no encounters with UFOs over the East or South coasts.

For now, the fighters were conducting sweeps of the areas they could cover as long as their fuel lasted. On the West coast, things were more hairy in the air. The Air Force units in that part of the country were finding themselves more involved assisting civilian air traffic control.

Coulson continued studying the map, half listening as the news announcer on the TV provided another update.

_"_ _With air traffic control radar still disrupted, chaos and panic continue in the skies over the continent as efforts continue to get all civilian aircraft landed safely. More reports continue to come in of near-misses and crash landings around the country. So far, there are still no reports of fatalities. Pentagon spokespersons report that Air Force and Air National Guard fighters are being scrambled to assist local authorities during this crisis. Pentagon spokespersons are still refusing to comment on whether military radio and satellite communications are also being impacted by this event. These refusals come even as civilian radio operators report increasing use of civilian radio channels by military units. We've also had more reports of unidentified objects being detected entering Earth's atmosphere before the disruption in air traffic radar. Pentagon spokespersons are also refusing to comment on these reports..."_

Coulson kept trying to put himself in the "other guy's head" as he went over the map again. His gut screamed that something else was going on beyond what they were seeing, but he was missing the piece to put it altogether.

_Why enter the atmosphere first over two points and then jam us? Why not jam us first and then enter the atmosphere? We could still vector an intercept on your projected path...?_

He knew they should have spotted something by now, but the information they'd received reported no contacts. Since then there was nothing else as he gazed again at the map, trying to make sense of it all.

His eyes drifted to the West coast of the map, recalling the report of fireballs over the Pacific. He moved down the West coast, starting at the US-Canada border. When he reached Los Angeles, he suddenly stopped as his thoughts coalesced in a moment of understanding. The town he was looking for wasn't on this scale of map, but he knew the approximate area as the realization hit him like a hammer.

"That crafty son of a bitch..." Coulson muttered.

"Who's crafty?" a voice replied from behind the General.

Coulson turned, noting the puzzled look the SecDef was giving him. He observed how the stress was fraying the tired-looking SecDef. The General only had a hunch and supposition to support him, but it was all starting to make some sort of crazy sense.

"Sir, remember the report about the meteor over California and the debris scattered across there and Nevada?" Coulson said, trying to keep his growing excitement in check.

The SecDef nodded his head, "Yes, what about that?"

"Sir, what if it was a smaller craft from the larger craft by the moon?"

The SecDef sighed, "That's making a big assumption, General. But, okay, say you're right... what does that have to do with this?"

"If it was us up there and one of our people crashed down here, what would we do?"

"General, I'm too tired to play—," the SecDef paused as the realization dawned on him, "We would mount a rescue mission!" he exclaimed.

Coulson smiled, "Exactly!"

"What about those other targets?"

"Decoys, they wanted us to see them before they jammed us!" Coulson said, shaking his head in admiration at the simplicity and audacity of the plan.

The SecDef studied the map, "So, they're coming down where?"

"They're coming down over the West coast! We have that report of fireballs over the Pacific approaching California."

"But where? That's a lot of area to cover. We already have fighters over the major population centers," the SecDef replied, taking in the map with tired eyes.

"The anonymous call from earlier. That call tells us where they're going... Sunnydale. Their objective is Sunnydale!" Coulson said, flashing a triumphant expression.

The SecDef stared at the General then at the map again, "General, let's say I believe you. What you've presented is circumstantial at best. The White House will eat us alive if I divert any air force assets already deployed to cover our cities on a hunch. Besides that, our communications are still spotty. We can barely communicate with our planes."

General Coulson moved to the map, pointing at Las Vegas, "Nellis Air Force Base... we have some of those new F-22 Raptors based there."

The SecDef shook his head, "The squadron isn't operational yet. They're still doing shake down trials on that plane."

"I know, but that's our most advanced fighter with new fire-control radar and incorporating stealth. We'll need everything we've got going up against what's evidently an adversary that's more advanced than us."

The SecDef studied the map, considering everything the General told him. He had few options open to him. It didn't take long to decide.

"I'll make the call to Nellis. I'll give them the order to launch and head for Sunnydale."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	15. Walk softly… and carry a big gun

## CHAPTER FIFTEEN  
Walk softly… and carry a big gun

" _Studied and analyzed for years afterwards, the first encounter between the US Air Force and REF was nothing less than a transcending moment in the history of human aviation. On paper, the latest US fighters appeared able to hold their own against the REF's Alpha Veritech fighter, but only on the surface when comparing their fighter capabilities. The VF-6 Alpha was a refined design based on experience gained in the REF's universe (Global Civil War, First Robotech War, Zentraedi Rebellion, and The Invid War). Interviewed after the encounter, the F-22 flight leader commented they might as well been flying biplanes…_ "

— Excerpt from _"The History of the United States Air Force"_ (published Earth, 2020)

#### oOoOo

_Dropship… they call it a dropship,_ Buffy reminded herself, making her way through the crowded corridor to find a place to sit. The cries and tears of pain tore at her as she passed through the compartment Cassie's people had set up as a temporary hospital. She tried not to impede the medic as he moved, with Dawn and Willow in tow assisting between the injured, treating them.

_It could be worse,_ she thought, grimacing, recalling everything they had gone through. There was a sense of relief knowing they had lost no one else in the bus crash. Anya and Andrew were the most seriously injured of the group, with both still unconscious.

As she made her way forward, she studied Cassie's people. She couldn't help being impressed with the way they'd fought off the Turok-Hans and Bringers. It impressed her even more to see the soldiers, a mix group of men and women, weren't much older than her or Cassie. When their helmets were on, they'd seemed so much older. A man's voice over the ship's PA system caught her attention.

_"Attention, everyone. Make sure you're in a seat or on the floor and holding on to something. We're about to begin our take-off."_

The reality of the situation hit Buffy again. Thoughts of being on spacecraft faded as her worries turned to Sunnydale and the situation there.

Despite the fighting around the airport and all the Turok-Hans and Bringers killed, there were still the ones running around town. Even with their numbers culled, the Hellmouth was still open and those remaining would still unleash a lot of death and destruction if they didn't stop them. A voice from behind startled her.

"What's up B?"

Buffy turned to Faith, "I got to get Cassie to tell her people to do something about Sunnydale! The Hellmouth is still open! We need to close it somehow!"

Urgency was in her movements as she turned around, with Faith following, and squeezed her way through the crowded corridor and cabin, looking for Cassie.

She noticed Spike taking a spot on the floor, leaning his head against a bulkhead. They made eye contact, and he flashed her a quick grin. He noted the worried look on her face and moved to get up. She waved him off as she didn't have time to deal with him or have him get in the way. Through the crowd, Buffy spotted Giles, Xander and Robin towards the front of the ship and made her way to them.

"Where's Cassie?" Buffy said.

Xander's fascination and wonderment of being on a spacecraft faded seeing Buffy's face, "She's in the cockpit. She wanted to talk to the pilots. What's wrong?" he replied.

"It's the Hellmouth… we can't leave it open! We have to stop them!"

At the mention of the Hellmouth, the others turned their attention to the danger they'd left behind. They followed Buffy as she continued forward. Just short of the main crew cabin, they found their way blocked by an immense man wearing full body armor.

"Sorry, the command cabin is for authorized personnel only. You need to find a seat. We're about to take-off."

Buffy gave the armored man a quick appraisal, and knew she could take him, but there was no time to waste. Her urgency became more pronounced as the dropship taxied.

"I need to talk to Cassie!" she demanded, planning the quickest way to take down the armored man if she needed to.

"Who?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, preparing herself to make her move on the man blocking her. Giles's hand on her shoulder stayed her move.

"Leftenant Evans, we need to talk to her, it's important!" Giles said, trying to keep Buffy in check. He'd read her tensing up, readying to force her way through. He understood the importance and urgency too, but thought it best to avoid fighting inside the moving craft.

For a moment it looked like the soldier would do nothing as he stood there. Cassie's sudden appearance behind the soldier made them realize the soldier must have been communicating over a radio inside his helmet.

"At ease, Sergeant. It's okay, they're with me."

"Yes, ma'am," the Sergeant replied, moving aside to let everyone pass.

Xander grinned at hearing the Sergeant refer to Cassie as "Ma'am". He had to remind himself that she was an officer along with being a fighter pilot that flew planes that turned into giant robots.

Since boarding the Horizont and being back among her people, Sunnydale seemed unreal… almost like a bad dream to Cassie. The look of worry and concern on Buffy's face brought back the reality of their situation, "What's the problem?"

"It's the Hellmouth back in town… we need to close it," Buffy replied.

Even though Cassie only had a basic understanding about the Hellmouth she understood enough to share Buffy's concern, "You said the Hellmouth is under the high school, right?"

Buffy and the others nodded.

Cassie considered options as the dropship taxied down the runway, getting set for take-off, "Would collapsing the building on top of it be enough?"

Buffy and Giles looked at each other, considering Cassie's question. Buffy shrugged as Giles grimaced, unsure if that would be enough.

"It might buy us some time to come up with a more permanent solution. There is the possibility that the Turok-Hans could dig their way out," Giles replied.

"Do we have any idea on how many vampires there are?" Cassie said.

"One of them is one too many," Faith quipped, getting nods of agreements from the others.

Cassie agreed with Faith's assessment and Buffy's concern. Her problem now was how she would explain the situation to Captain Coleiro, recalling her own reactions when first told about vampires.

#### oOoOo

_"THEY'RE WHAT?"_

Cassie and the dropship pilots winced at the voice shouting in disbelief over the radio channel. She saw the disbelief mirrored in the pilots' faces as she again tried to explain the true situation in Sunnydale to Captain Coleiro.

"Sir, like I said, those creatures aren't aliens. The ones with no eyes and carrying the knives and swords are what the locals refer to as Bringers… servants for other creatures. Those bigger and meaner looking ones are… ummm… vampires."

The long pause on the communications channel filled the command cabin with an uneasy silence. The Captain's voice was more controlled and calmer when he replied.

_"Lieutenant, let's say for a moment I believe you and not have you sent to the headshrinkers. How does this change our situation? I was already planning to go back into town."_

"Understood, sir. It's important that you seal the Hellmouth, so no more of those vampires can escape!"

In his fighter, Coleiro shook his head, trying to come to grips with what the Lieutenant was telling him about the "aliens" they fought. Traveling across the galaxy, he'd seen his fair share of strange things, but the notion that vampires and monsters existed seemed insane.

_That kind of talk ends up with you having long talks lying on a couch followed by a long rest in a padded room…_

He sighed, if he hadn't seen the creatures with his own eyes he could dismiss the Lieutenant's wild story.

_Maybe these creatures are aliens, and over time the locals just thought they were vampires and monsters…?_

"Okay Lieutenant, where is this… Hellmouth, and what do you want me to do about it?"

_"Sir, the Hellmouth is under the town's high school. That's the large building to the north of the position we were fighting from when you arrived."_

"Copy that, so if I destroy the building will the rubble be enough to bury this Hellmouth?"

While waiting for a reply, Coleiro checked his plane's missile systems. His thoughts drifted to finding a more long-term solution to closing this Hellmouth.

_Hmmm… maybe a Reflex warhead dropped on top of it will close it…_

Evan's voice interrupted thoughts of using strategic weapons, _"Sir, if you collapse the building that should work or at least buy us some time. You must eliminate all hostiles in the town."_

"Understood, I'm heading out now. I'll take care of the problem. I'll meet you at the rendezvous point," Coleiro replied, watching the Horizont start its take-off.

As the Horizont took off, Coleiro got his Battloid running. Before he reached the edge of the airfield, he shifted into Guardian mode, hitting his thrusters, getting more speed and gaining altitude. With some sky underneath him, he switched into Fighter mode and lit his afterburners. The Alpha's engines roared as he steered the fighter towards Sunnydale.

#### oOoOo

Major Kevin Anderson eased back on his throttle, turning off his afterburners. His F-22 Raptor reached supersonic shortly after take-off from Nellis. The other seven Raptors in his flight formed up with him as they headed west.

Orders for his flight to launch had come as a surprise to Anderson. The entire squadron was still in training mode, not yet at full operational status. He figured the situation was worse than what the news was saying if the squadron was being ordered to scramble a flight.

When they'd first received the orders, Anderson and the rest of his pilots assumed they would assist with helping civilian aircraft. Surprise and confusion took over as their orders stated they were to conduct a Combat Air Patrol sweep over a town called Sunnydale in California. The orders said to report any unusual activity, identify any aircraft in the vicinity and engage any aircraft that refused to identify themselves or acted hostile.

Anderson wondered what kind of activity was occurring over California for the brass to issue these kinds of orders. He was also still trying to figure out how he would report any unusual activity with communications still a mess. Whatever the higher ups thought was occurring, he had nothing but confidence in his aircraft and the men flying with him. They would deal with whatever they encountered.

Again, he tried to contact ground control. Static filled the channel with an occasional word managing to breakthrough. He shook his head in frustration, hoping to get help from ground control.

Whatever was happening across the country was also impacting his fighter's search and fire control radar, degrading its range despite being set to full power and switching frequencies. On the bright side, even if he couldn't communicate with ground control, he could talk to the other planes in his flight using the new encrypted communications system.

"This is Spartan-Leader… everybody stay in formation and keep your eyes open. Our fire control radar is getting fubarred by whatever is happening tonight, so we've only got a limited range with it, so stay awake! Ground control is trying to make sure we have a clear flight path to our destination, climb up to flight level three-three-oh and maintain speed. Estimated time to our destination point is twenty minutes."

#### oOoOo

General Coulson turned from the huge display map of the United States, trying to read the SecDef's face as he approached. A worried thought flashed in his head that the White House and the Joint Chiefs had dismissed his idea, "Did you get through to Nellis?"

The SecDef nodded, "Yes, they should have taken off by now. I briefed the President and Joint Chiefs on your theory on what is happening."

Coulson should have felt relieved, but the SecDef's expression still bothered him, "There's something else going on?"

The SecDef sighed, "The Joint Chiefs and the National Security Council agree with you about the West coast…"

"But?"

The SecDef shook his head, recalling the conference call, "They disagree with your assessment that this is a rescue mission. They believe this a prelude to an attack or worse, an invasion! They've ordered our F-22's to engage any aircraft encountered over Sunnydale that refuse to identify themselves and obey commands."

This didn't surprise Coulson, but it didn't temper his response, "Are they crazy? We're dealing with an unknown force that has the tech to blind us, and we want to pick a fight! We should try to contact them. The last thing we want is to stumble into any hostilities!"

The SecDef sighed again, "I understand your point, General. A part of me agrees with you, but their position is this violation of our airspace and their jamming is tantamount to an act of war. The President agrees with their threat assessment."

Coulson wanted to argue the decision, but the SecDef's face made him realize it would be better to keep his arguments to himself for now. He hoped the situation wouldn't get any worse and there would still be a chance to defuse the situation before something happened that they would all regret.

#### oOoOo

A dark figure paced back and forth across the roof of the high school. Now, with the distant thundering and roaring from the airport having stopped, silence blanketed the town.

Fires still burned out of control around town from the earlier fighting, adding a hellish atmosphere to the town. This should have appealed to the man pacing back and forth, but he was only experiencing anger and frustration at this moment.

Caleb was still struggling to come to grips with what had happened. One moment, his forces were on the point of overwhelming and killing the Slayers along with the whole Slayer blood line. The next, scores of Bringers and vampires were being cut down and everyone had escaped.

What was more concerning was what was happening at the airport. He'd received reports of activity there, but they hadn't concerned him because his focus was on the Slayers and Potentials.

When it became clear the Slayers and others were escaping to the airport, he'd directed almost all the Turok-Hans in town to the airport to hunt them down. Since then there'd been nothing but an ominous silence, with no one having returned with any news.

The troubling feeling of uncertainty that had started when the strange motorcycle had driven into town continued to grow inside him. There were only a handful of Turok-Hans and Bringers left on the surface, clustered around the high school. They were more vampires deep inside the Hellmouth, but it was taking time to prod them up to the surface. Caleb got the impression the Turok-Hans were now reluctant to leave the safety of the Hellmouth and come to the surface.

The ex-priest scoffed at the thought of vampires afraid of any mere human. Yet, he couldn't dismiss his growing uncertainty and doubts, recalling what the "motorcycle" and its weapons had done.

What added to his uncertainty and doubts was The First Evil's lack of appearance. His master's disappearance troubled him as it stirred unpleasant emotions and memories. He felt alone and abandoned in a way he hadn't experienced since he was a child.

A low rumbling sound cut-off any further thoughts or introspections. He glanced around for the source as the rumbling grew, but the lowlight conditions made it difficult to see…

A dark shadow thundered over the school, the turbulence in its wake knocking Caleb down. He recovered, brushing himself as he stood up. A shadow in the distance caught his attention, shock gripping him as he realized it was a jet flying low. He saw the jet bank and head back towards him.

Another unaccustomed emotion flared inside him. He tried pushing away the growing tendrils of fear as the jet came towards him…

#### oOoOo

Coleiro scanned the town on his first pass, using the Alpha's sensors to track and target any life forms detected. He flashed a small predatory smile as the only life signs he detected in the town were all concentrated around the target building. His sensors also detected a strange high energy reading from under the school.

_Must be that Hellmouth Evans reported… Time to end this…_

Coleiro shifted his fighter into Battloid mode, landing on the street where they'd been fighting earlier. He cut loose, opening fire with his EP-13 particle gun pod on the closest targets. The bursts of plasma, designed to destroy Invid mecha and ships, cut in half or incinerated the now fleeing creatures. His Battloid moved down the middle of the street, shifting targets, making sure none of the enemy escaped.

#### oOoOo

Caleb watched in a stunned-like trance as the jet transformed into a huge robot creature, walking down the street, firing on the remaining Bringers and vampires. Fear grabbed him as the enormous machine cut down The First Evil's servants.

The machine showed no mercy as it approached the school, crushing a vampire under its huge metal foot. Caleb held his breath as the robot stopped short of the front of the school. An eerie silence once again descended over the town.

#### oOoOo

Coleiro studied the figure standing on the roof of the building in front of him. His sensors were telling him the "person" was human, much like his earlier encounter in the cemetery, he sensed this _person_ was working with these creatures.

Anticipation filled him as his finger stroked the weapons trigger on his flight stick, his focus locked-on the building roof top. It caught him off-guard when a voice, picked up by the Battloid's external microphones, filled his cockpit.

"Paul…"

As his mind registered and recognized the voice, a floodgate of memories and emotions burst open, engulfing him.

_It can't be…! She's dead…!_

A wave of emotions pulled on him as he found himself afraid to look down to where the voice was coming from. He tried to brush it off as a hallucination caused by a lack of sleep and the stress of combat, but the voice spoke again, shattering that explanation.

"Paul… it's me."

Memories of a ruined and charred battlefield on a distant planet filled his thoughts. The voice was a reminder of that painful day when her desperate voice called for his help. It was as clear as if it happened yesterday as he replayed that day over-and-over again in his head. He'd been so wrapped up in the fighting and killing, reveling in the destruction, he wasn't there when she needed him the most.

The memory of pulling her broken and dying body from the wreckage of her fighter tore at his soul. He remembered how he'd held her in his arms, begging for forgiveness. His unanswered cries and shouts to an unforgiving God to take him instead… that he was the one that didn't deserve to live.

Coleiro gave into the old pain and memories, tilting his Battloid's head down to look at the voice. His heart froze seeing the young woman with short-cropped blond hair, wearing an old style REF uniform that hadn't been in use for over a decade.

His throat was dry, finding it hard to speak as he stared at the young woman. He croaked out a single hushed word, "Sonia…"

"Paul… it's me. Why don't you come out and see me? We have so much to talk about. I know that you've missed me," the young woman said, flashing a smile upwards.

Coleiro's hand slipped from his flight stick as the old memories and pain overwhelmed him. The years melted away as he stared at Sonia. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much time to make up. Out of reflex, his hand moved to the console to shift his Battloid to Guardian mode so he could go to her.

As his fingers stroked the lever marked "G" on his console, they froze as a small voice in the back of his mind shouted out. Coleiro paused as the voice told him to think over what he was doing. As Sonia continued calling him to come see her, his head and heart warred with each other. Despite the allure and pull of seeing her, the inner voice demanded he stop and consider the situation.

The inner voice pointed out several things to him. _One…_ his sensors weren't picking up any life signs from Sonia… almost like she wasn't there. _Two…_ Sonia died fifteen years. He'd been the one to bury her and there was no way this could be her. _Three…_ the man on the rooftop was watching the whole scene with a huge smirk plastered across his face.

The sight of the guy on the roof smirking… almost laughing at him, coalesced together with the old memories and pain tormenting him. It struck like hitting an open nerve, setting him off.

#### oOoOo

The woman's voice calling to the robot surprised Caleb. He glanced down and caught sight of a woman standing in front of the school. As the woman kept talking, he realized it was his master… The First Evil, manipulating the person inside the machine. The First was an incorporeal presence, but it could assume the form of any person who had died.

It became obvious the dead woman meant something to the person inside, piloting the machine, as the robot's gigantic gun dropped to its side. As the machine stood there, Caleb understood his master's plan to draw out the pilot… then the situation would change back to their advantage.

The former priest couldn't help himself, moving to get a better view of his master toying and playing with their adversary. He had a splendid view of the apparition his master was using. It was a beautiful looking young woman in her twenties with short blonde hair. She was wearing a strange outfit that highlighted and complemented her figure.

The faint stirrings of lust pulled at Caleb as he took in her form. Out of reflex, a smirk came as he watched his master weave its web of manipulation. It was getting hard to keep from laughing, knowing the fool inside the robot would soon pay, and then things would get interesting.

Caleb was still smirking as the first wave of missiles struck him…

#### oOoOo

Sonia's was yelling at him to stop what he was doing. Coleiro tried shutting out her voice, but she kept screaming his name and saying he was killing her… just like he'd done that day. He screamed and swore, trying to push her voice from his head as he emptied his missile launchers into the building.

Tremendous explosions tore through the high school as missiles hit the building. Coleiro's eyes burned as he shifted positions to send more missiles into the building. His inner voice kept reminding him he needed to make sure the debris buried the Hellmouth.

It was over in moments, but he kept pressing the missile launcher trigger. Nothing fired, because he'd exhausted all his missiles. Drenched in sweat, exhausted and spent, he tried to get his breathing back under control.

"Look what you did!" cried out an angry voice.

Coleiro's sensors still detected no life form readings as he looked in disbelief to see Sonia standing on the rubble, untouched by the missile barrage.

As he regained his composure, he realized something was using her to manipulate him. His composure didn't last long as Sonia's image screamed at him again, giving him a hate-filled look.

Anger flared again, and he raised his Battloid's foot and tried to crush her into the rubble. He blinked in surprise, seeing the armored foot pass through her. He stomped on Sonia's image several more times, but it had no effect on it.

Sonia's image sneered, "You think you can fight me? You think you can kill me? I'm not some simple demon or vampire… I am something you can't even conceive. I am The First Evil… the thing that even the darkness fears… I am beyond sin, beyond death. My presence… my essence is everywhere… in every being, every thought, every drop of hate."

Coleiro was now beyond pissed as his anger threatened to get the best of him. He was about to threaten to drop every Reflex and nuke warhead he had on top of this place when his radio came to life.

_"Reaper-One… this is Watcher-One."_

He took a moment to get himself under control as Watcher-One called for him again. Despite getting his breathing under control, his tone was still brusque as he responded, "Reaper-One here… what's the problem?"

There was a pause before the voice spoke again, _"Uh sir, we've being keeping an eye out for any threats…"_

_Shit!_

This snapped his focus back on the mission. He pushed his anger down for the moment as Watcher-One continued with its report.

_"We've picked up eight aircraft moving into the area. They must have gotten a sniff of Pelican-One. The bogeys are on an intercept course, increasing their speed to Mach 2."_

_Double-shit!_

"Tell Pelican-One to evade and get them to increase speed and altitude. I'm on my way," Coleiro replied, backing his Battloid up.

_"They've already started evasive maneuvers, but we didn't pick up the bogeys until they were close and increased speed. They'll be all over Pelican-One in minutes."_

Sonia's voice called out to Coleiro as he backed away, "Going so soon? Having problems are you?" the First Evil said, sneering again.

Coleiro stopped, his Battloid's posture mirrored the intense anger and rage building inside him as he faced the creature impersonating Sonia.

"I don't know what the hell you are, but I swear I will make it my mission in life to find a way to kill you. I will personally end you…" his voice was low, but there was no misunderstanding the hate and anger filling his voice.

He didn't stick around for any reply as he turned his Battloid and ran. As soon as he had more space, he shifted to Guardian mode to gain altitude before shifting to fighter mode. He hit his afterburners and roared upwards into the night sky.

#### oOoOo

It had been a stroke of pure luck one of Major Anderson's fighters had gotten a radar return as they caught the target climbing and gaining speed. Anderson ordered his flight to intercept when it didn't acknowledge their hails. He thought they would easily catch what appeared to be a big slow target. The flight's radio channel filled with surprised voices when the target accelerated, pulling away. Anderson ordered his flight to hit their afterburners and pursue.

At this altitude, the night sky was just catching the first rays of the dawning sun from the east. Anderson blinked as he made out the silhouette of their target, trying to put distance between them.

Even in these light conditions, he recognized their target wasn't like anything he'd ever seen or heard about before. The aircraft was huge with a long neck connecting the front to a larger aft section. The shape gave it a swan-like appearance, and the craft looked delicate, but its looks were deceiving as the craft had to be mounting some serious engines. His flight of F-22's was pushing Mach 2.2, trying to close the range.

Anderson again tried hailing the craft, but only got static in reply. He tried getting a radar lock on the target for his AMRAAM missiles, but swore when it failed to lock due to all the interference.

"Spartan flight… this is Spartan-Leader, can anyone get a radar lock to engage?"

Anderson swore under his breath, hearing the negative replies. He briefly considered firing one of his AMRAAM missiles and letting its onboard radar have a try at locking on the target.

He discarded it as the thought of one of his missiles roaming the sky searching for targets wasn't a great idea. No, they would have to close the range to use their Sidewinders and maybe cannons. He noticed their target changing direction… they knew they were being pursued.

_You can run, but you can't hide,_ the Major thought, flashing a small predatory smile.

"Spartan Flight, close the range and if they refuse to respond or follow us, we'll use our Sidewinders."

Anderson pushed his throttle to the firewall, trying to get more out of his engines to close the gap to their target. As his fighter surged forward, the G-forces pushed his body back into his ejection seat. Even as their target continued to climb, Anderson saw they were closing the range.

They now passed 50,000 feet and their target showed no signs of leveling off as it continued climbing. Anderson was hoping to force the UFO down, but he knew the window of opportunity was fading.

At this rate they would hit the F-22's operational ceiling soon… he needed to end this while he could. He switched his fire control selector to "Missiles" and the whining tone of the Sidewinder's seeker head filled the cockpit as it locked-on the target.

"I got tone… Fox Two!" Anderson said, pressing the weapons trigger on his flight stick.

His fighter shuddered as the weapons bay doors opened, and an AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missile dropped from the bay with the rocket motor igniting. Anderson's helmet visor was down, so the flash from the missile's motor didn't disrupt his night vision as the missile streaked up towards its target.

As the missile arched upwards, Anderson wondered if the AIM-9 was big enough to take down a craft that size. He brushed away his doubts, knowing any damage suffered at these speeds and altitude was fatal.

In seconds, Anderson's world turned upside down as his radar warning receiver filled his ears with warning alarms. A jumble of confused voices filled the flight's radio channel.

_"… Something's locked-on me!"_

_"… Where's the bogey?"_

Anderson craned his neck, trying to find this new threat as he pushed his fighter into evasive maneuvers, "Spartan Flight, break formation! Find that bogey!"

Streaks of bright light suddenly lit up the night sky. Anderson noted the streaks looked like tracer rounds as they passed through his flight, missing his planes by wide margins. Any thoughts on the enemy's incompetence faded as he realized they weren't aiming at his flight as the Sidewinder erupted in a brilliant explosion.

Anderson had never seen a Sidewinder taken out before in mid-air as his training kicked in to deal with this new threat. As his flight recovered, a dark menacing-looking aircraft streaked past them, heading towards the larger craft.

"Spartan-Five, take your section and get on that new bogey. You're cleared for weapons-free! My section will continue after the larger target."

Anderson heard the acknowledgements as his warning receiver buzzed again. A plane flashed by him, and he knew it wasn't one of his. Disregarding his own orders, he pulled back on his flight stick, turning to pursue the threat.

#### oOoOo

Coleiro applied more thrust as he banked his fighter for another pass. His head turned from side-to-side, keeping his eyes open for threats. Glancing at his sensor display, he saw the flight breaking up, taking evasive actions.

His emotions were still raw as he noted five fighters were moving to pursue him while the remaining fighters continued after the Horizont. A part of him wanted to unleash all the pain and anger on the fighters, so it was fortunate he'd used up all his missiles on the ground. It would have been easy to clear the sky, but his inner voice told him to rein it back in… these pilots didn't deserve to die.

Even if he didn't want to kill the opposing pilots, they were still intent on taking him and the dropship out. He needed to buy the Horizont time to get some distance and altitude. Coleiro used his Alpha's speed and maneuverability, banking hard and turning back towards the group of fighters trying to intercept the dropship.

He reacted instantly to another missile launch at the Horizont, locking on and firing a long burst, catching the missile with his shots, causing it to explode. His reward was his warning receiver going off, telling him that someone had a lock on him. He reacted, pulling back on his stick and banking hard left while deploying countermeasures at the same time.

#### oOoOo

Anderson swore while grunting from the excessive high-g's pressing down on his body. He'd gotten into a prime position, launching a heat-seeker at the unidentified fighter. If he'd blinked, he would have missed it as his target banked, deploying what looked like flares to throw off the missile. It wasn't the move itself that astonished him, it was how fast and smoothly the plane executed it. He'd never seen an aircraft react like that before… it was almost like the plane was _alive_.

He pushed his Raptor to stay on the strange fighter's tail as he kept trying to match the other fighter's maneuvers. The maneuverability of the opposing fighter shocked him as he struggled to maintain his position. Anderson noted the other planes in his flight were converging from different aspects on this target. It was only a matter of time before one of them got a clear shot.

#### oOoOo

G-forces pushed Coleiro into his seat as his vision grayed from the jinking and banking he did to stay ahead of the pursuing planes. He was trying hard not to have to kill any of the opposing pilots. Yet, he realized against these odds, it was only a matter of time before they got a clean shot at him.

His thoughts drifted to just ordering the Horizont to break for orbit. They could hit full thrusters to outrun these fighters and get back to the Arcadia. The memories and old pain swelled up in him, knowing it would be easy to give the order as his warning receiver whined more alarms.

_This would be a good death…_

He shook off the thoughts, pushing the tiredness, pain and old memories back behind his wall.

_Not today…_

He pushed his throttle forward to bear down on the three fighters chasing the dropship. He realized he had to do something because these guys were laying for keeps.

_Time to take the gloves off…_

#### oOoOo

Anderson saw the unknown fighter looping back towards his fighters, still pursuing after the larger craft. So far, that fighter had only fired on missiles, but he got a bad feeling as the fighter now bore down on his planes.

He shouted a warning, but it was too late as short bursts of tracer fire reached out and caught the three F-22's. Each burst lasted only a second long, hitting each Raptor in one of their engines, causing smoke and fire to erupt from the fighters. Anderson's stomach sank as shouts filled the radio channel.

_"… I'm hit… Engine out… Losing power… Can't maintain speed and altitude…"_

Within seconds Anderson had lost almost half his flight, watching the damaged fighters lose altitude, trailing smoke behind them.

What astonished him more were the shots looked _aimed_ to take out only the engines and cause no other damage. He shook off the crazy thought as he tried to keep up with the other fighter. The thought you could aim a precise shot from a fighter moving at supersonic speeds was unheard of… wasn't it?

#### oOoOo

A self-satisfying smirk plastered Coleiro's face as he banked his fighter, turning to make a pass at the group of fighters. He fired a quick burst, taking out the engine on a fighter.

_My aerial gunnery instructor would be so proud…_

He'd remembered his dad telling him the story of the Zentraedi attacking the SDF-1 just after Max and Miriya Sterling's wedding. Miriya told the RDF about an inherent design weakness in the Zentraedi Battle Pods where they could cripple the pod, but not kill the pilot. That it was in such a hard spot made it that more challenging as the RDF pilots made it a contest to see how many they could take out.

A smile formed at the childhood memory as he recalled his dad telling him how he'd taken out five pods in one pass. The smile faded as other old memories leaked out from behind his wall.

The Alpha's sensors and optics made aiming for an engine child's play compared to trying to take out a small joint on a Battle Pod's leg. There were still inherent dangers as he had to make sure the shots were precise to go through one engine and not hit the fuel tank. Even if they lost both engines, they would at least have time to get to a lower altitude and speed before ejecting.

_Better to give them a chance rather than just killing them…_

#### oOoOo

Anderson swore again as a mix of rage and fear grew hearing distress calls from two more of his pilots. All thoughts of going after the larger craft faded as they needed to deal with this threat.

The morning light grew brighter, making it easier to see more details of the unidentified fighter. He'd never seen a fighter use black and red for its fuselage colors.

The colors made the fighter all that more menacing, especially with the graphic Grim Reaper on the vertical tail stabilizers. The whole design caught Anderson's pilot's eye and a part of him wished for a chance in the other plane's cockpit.

He pushed those wishful desires aside as he pulled back hard on his stick, finding himself now on the unknown's six o'clock position. This time he was in a close prime position.

"GUNS! GUNS! GUNS!" he shouted, pressing his weapons trigger. Tracer fire spat from his 20mm Vulcan cannon. The range and angle were perfect as Anderson watched the tracers reach out and tag the other fighter.

#### oOoOo

The Alpha shuddered, and Coleiro glanced behind to see more tracers reaching out for him from the fighter on his tail. A sigh of relief escaped, checking his display screen and readouts to see no damage from the weapons fire.

He said a silent prayer of thanks to the plane's designers for incorporating Chobham armor into the plane's skin. They'd designed it to protect against Zentraedi high velocity cannons and Invid plasma rounds.

_Still… all it takes is one lucky shot,_ he thought, jinking and twisting his fighter to avoid more cannon rounds. Several rounds caught the edge of his wing, glancing off with no damage. He kept twisting and turning, but the opposing pilot was staying tight on his tail.

_Time to change things up,_ he thought, reaching for the controller marked "G".

#### oOoOo

Anderson stayed locked-on the tail of his opponent. The last thing he'd expected was for a fighter to be carrying armor like a tank, swearing as more 20mm cannon rounds bounced off the fighter. The familiar whining tone of a heat-seeker locking on filled his ears. His finger moved to press the weapons trigger to fire his last Sidewinder…

His eyes widen in shock as he slammed his flight stick forward to push his fighter's nose down to avoid colliding with his target. The opposing fighter seemed to stop in mid-air and appeared to be breaking apart as the plane's outline changed.

He avoided colliding with the other fighter, passing underneath it. He looked up, blinking in shock as it appeared the other plane was doing a back-flip over top of him… which was impossible! At one point he swore he saw arms and hands sticking out of the fighter.

Still trying to recover from his shock, Anderson took too long to realize the fighter he'd been chasing was now on his six. Reality came crashing down as his plane shuddered with alarms and flashing warning messages filling his cockpit.

Anderson knew he'd suffered damaged as his plane lost speed and altitude as he struggled with the controls. He swore, trying to keep his fighter level while figuring out if he could find a place to put down or if he'd have to eject.

He keyed open his radio, keeping his voice in control and professional, "Mayday… Mayday… This is Spartan-One… Have taken heavy damage… I'm declaring an emergency!"

#### oOoOo

Spartan-Three watched, filled with a mix of disbelief and fear as his flight leader's plane lost altitude, trailing smoke. He ignored the distress call, trying to focus on dealing with the threat while still coming to grips with what he'd witnessed.

_They'll lock me up in a padded room if I tell them what I saw,_ the pilot thought. The harsh realization sank in there was only him and his wingman from their flight left still flying.

"Spartan-Four stay close… let's bracket him and we'll fire everything we got. He can't avoid all our missiles."

Spartan-Three heard his wingman's acknowledgement. His voice sounded more confident than he felt about his plan, but then Spartan-Four hadn't seen what he'd seen.

The last pair of F-22's stayed on the tail of the unknown fighter, juking and weaving across the dawning sky. The minutes seemed to take an eternity as they closed the distance and both fighters lined up clean shots.

"Fire! Fox-Three! Fox-Two!" Spartan-Three ordered.

The designers of the F-22 Raptor would have been proud. They never tested the fighter to fire so many missiles at one time. If you'd asked the designers, they would have told you it wasn't possible as Spartan-Three and Four salvoed all their missiles. Confidence flared in both pilots as their missiles streaked towards their target, but then they still thought in earthly terms…

"What the hell?" Spartan-Three muttered, witnessing something that before tonight he would have said was impossible.

Their opponent seemed to pull up and stop in mid-air. For a moment both Raptor pilots thought the plane they were facing off against had some VTOL capability… like a Harrier. Those thoughts instantly changed as the fighter not only stopped in mid-air, but changed its shape. Time slowed down for both Raptor pilots watching in pure astonishment at the unfolding scene.

_My God! It can't be! That's impossible!_ Spartan-Three thought, finally realizing how outclassed they were finding himself staring at a huge robot hovering in the sky, holding an enormous gun in its hands.

The robot opened fire at the incoming missiles with its gun. The robot moved across the sky, effortlessly dodging missiles while taking them out with its gun and counter-measures.

Spartan-Three froze at the scene as the robot took out the last of their missiles. Reality came back with a vengeance as his fighter shuddered and heaved. Alarms went off as he realized he'd taken hits, as he also glimpsed smoke and flames shooting from his wingman's plane. He struggled with his flight controls, trying to keep his plane level as he lost engine power. Like his flight leader and the others before, he broadcast a mayday while trying to figure what he would do.

As he lost altitude, Spartan-Three glanced upwards through his canopy, trying to get a glimpse of their opponent. He shook his head in disbelief, seeing the robot still hovering as if peering down on them. Suddenly, the robot transformed back into a recognizable plane shape, then took off… heading up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	16. That's one angry man…

## CHAPTER SIXTEEN  
That's one angry man…

" _There was so much being thrown at us. One moment, we were standing alone against the embodiment of all evil and its servants. The next thing we're cramming aboard a spaceship heading towards the moon! You'd think escaping Sunnydale that things would get easier. Nah, frying pan meet fire…_ "

— Kennedy

#### oOoOo

Leaning back in his chair, General Coulson closed his eyes for a moment. His ongoing headache had him alternating between massaging the bridge of his nose and rubbing his eyes, trying to push the pain away. Loud gurgling noises from his stomach protested at the idea of having more coffee.

Coulson pushed through the pain to focus on more pressing concerns and problems. The jamming over the continent had ended several hours ago, and radar systems along with military communications were being restored. Speculation and rumors filled the airways and Internet as people swapped their opinions and theories about what had occurred.

This sudden return of normalcy also puzzled the Pentagon, but they weren't sitting around. They were using this opportunity to communicate to units, organize and deploy forces in case the jamming started up again.

Despite the Pentagon's concern of another attack, Coulson wasn't as worried. He still believed in his theory the unknown intruders were conducting a rescue mission, and they'd achieved their mission objectives and returned to space. His contacts in Russia and China reported monitoring "unidentified objects" under power on a trajectory course for the moon. This information only added support for his theory.

If it'd only been the jamming, they might have contained and controlled the situation long enough for cooler heads to prevail. The taking down of eight of the US Air Force's new fighter by a single adversary sent shock waves through the Pentagon and the Whitehouse.

Coulson's sources were telling him the Joint Chiefs were freaking out and going bat shit crazy after seeing gun camera footage from the encounter. That they lost no pilots during the engagement, and only minor injuries reported from those forced to eject, didn't lessen the panic taking hold.

To contain the situation and prevent word from leaking out, Coulson convinced the SecDef to mobilize Army units to establish a ten-mile cordon around Sunnydale. The cover story being used was a chemical spill in the town and its inhabitants evacuated.

There was already an advance party from Coulson's unit on scene, trying to assess and gather information on the situation. Their first reports stated that some serious fighting had taken place in and around the local airport. He hoped Finn could tell him more once he was on site in Sunnydale. His expertise would be invaluable in telling him what the hell was going on.

So far, no units had gone into Sunnydale, but Apache gunships were overflying the town. There was no movement or signs of life detected, but fires were burning out of control in parts of town with evidence of fighting having taken place. The most interesting report was about the high school obliterated with only a huge pile of rubble marking the site.

Coulson knew the Hellmouth was located under the high school. The obvious targeting and destruction of the building only added to the complexity of trying to decipher what the unknown visitor's intentions were.

He leaned towards his computer monitor and used the mouse to click on the video file copy of the F-22 gun camera footage he'd gotten through his sources. Despite already having viewed the video several times, it still amazed and shocked him. It looked like something from a sci-fi movie as the huge robot dodged and took out missiles with a huge looking gun. Again, he studied the machine's outline and markings while his mind wandered, trying to get a grasp on the visitor's mindset.

_They engage in a huge firefight in town and the airfield, yet they avoid causing casualties among our pilots. What're they up to and what do they want? What's their next move? Is there any way we can communicate with them?_

With the image of the machine etched in his mind, Coulson closed his eyes again, leaning back in his chair. He pondered these questions, wondering what would happen next.

#### oOoOo

The docking with the Horizont was almost anticlimactic after the fighting in town, the airport and in the sky above Sunnydale. It didn't diminish the risk or danger, but the docking went without a hitch within the five-minute window.

With the Captain's fighter secured in the docking bay, the ship went to full thrusters, achieving escape velocity as it blasted towards space. The dropship rendezvoused with the orbiting shuttles, and they all set a return path to the Arcadia.

Coleiro informed the pilots he would remain in his fighter for the trip back. Their commander's behavior puzzled them, but they figured he wanted to avoid the crowded conditions inside the Horizont. Besides, they caught the angry tone in his voice and thought it best to not incur the Captain's infamous temper.

In his cockpit, Coleiro slumped exhausted in his seat as they made the return voyage. The anger bubbled beneath the surface, leaving him raw and drained after his encounter in town with the thing that impersonated Sonia. He needed to be alone to decompress and get a handle on himself, and the crowded confines of the dropship were the last thing he needed.

Alone, the memories of the encounter kept threatening to release all the pain and repressed emotions he'd kept bottled up for years. While struggling with his turmoil, his inner voice continued to pester him, reminding him of the duties and responsibilities he had to take care of. They were heading back to the Arcadia with more people than they'd planned for. Coleiro didn't second-guess or doubt his decision… it was the right one to make. He now had to prepare for the "guests" they were bringing back with them.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself as he opened a radio channel, "Arcadia… Arcadia… this is Reaper-One, do you read me?"

It didn't take long for a response.

_"We read you, Reaper-One… Hanson here, sir."_

Coleiro took another deep breath, "Lieutenant, the mission was a success with no casualties, but we've picked up extra passengers."

_"Sir?"_ Hanson replied, the puzzlement obvious in his voice.

"It's a long story Lieutenant, but we're having unexpected house guests. I want you to arrange for quarters, co-ordinate with Pelican-One on numbers. Also, have medics ready because we have wounded."

_"Yes, sir! We'll have everything ready by the time you dock."_

"Lieutenant…"

_"Sir?"_

"I want all the armories secured and implement ship security protocol Bravo-Four. These people are our guests, but I don't them wandering into critical areas unescorted… Understood?"

_"Yes, sir!"_

#### oOoOo

A tired Buffy sat down beside Spike. He gave her a small smirk, "For a moment there, I didn't know if we would make it, Slayer."

When the pilot announced they were being pursued by fighters, a graveyard silence filled the ship as fear and uncertainty took hold. Anxious minutes ticked by as the ship took evasive maneuvers. Everyone did their best to hold on as the ship made some not so calming turns and banks. Even then people were still tossed about with minor injuries sustained among the passengers.

With the threat now gone, a sense of relief filled her knowing they'd survived. Her thoughts focused on what they'd just survived, that the pilot's announcement they were breaking orbit hadn't sunk in yet.

She snorted, giving Spike a small smile, "I didn't doubt for a second we would make it."

Spike took in her smile, basking in it. When she smiled at him, he reveled in it every time. It made him feel like a man again, "Liar, I saw your face! You were white as a sheet when those fighters were chasing us. That's the first time I've ever seen you that way before," he said, smirking.

Buffy snorted, "Okay, I'm busted! I'm not a great flyer. I get a little nervous when flying."

Spike's face showed astonishment at this confession, "You? You're afraid of flying? That's bloody priceless!" he said, trying not to laugh.

"Hey! It's an honest to goodness fear! You're afraid of stakes, the sun and holy water. For me, it's flying!"

"I find it hard to believe you're afraid of flying. I guess you'll have some time to face your fear. We've got a couple of hours before we land where ever we're headed."

Spike's words were a reminder of the reality they now faced as his words sank in. Buffy could deal with what Sunnydale threw at her, but being in a spacecraft chased by fighters and now heading into space was pushing her boundaries. A momentary sense of panic gripped her. That passed as she glanced around, seeing everyone settled down and the ship in a relaxed and quiet state.

Cassie's people were moving around handing out food and water, which was much appreciated by everyone. Buffy took the packet of emergency rations with some hesitation. Unsure at first, after several bites, she found the food not bad, and it helped her settle down more.

As she settled in for the ride, she found herself with a rare moment to relax. It seemed unreal as the weight of responsibility eased off her shoulders… even if just for a few moments. She wasn't the only taking advantage of the quiet to relax as people around her settled down, resting or conversing quietly. They'd all survived and escaped Sunnydale and the Hellmouth… for now. Buffy knew she would still have to deal with it, but for the moment she could push those thoughts to the back of her mind. She could relax and not have to worry about anyone.

Her thoughts drifted to what would happen when they reached their destination. Cassie mentioned they were heading to a ship called the Arcadia, but it had no context or meaning to her. They were heading to a new unknown, but not like the scary-type of knowns that Sunnydale always seemed to throw at them… she hoped.

"I'd rather face this fear right now than being back down there. I think we'll be okay for now," she said, letting a yawn escape her mouth. She noticed a worried expression on Spike's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Yeah, about all this working out and having happy endings, I'm not sure how these people will react to a vampire. I don't think they carry around pigs in their spaceships or have a supply of pig's blood lying around… I still got to feed."

It hadn't even occurred to her about Spike's "dietary needs". Until now, the focus was just on staying alive. Embers of guilt stoked inside her at having not even considered how this would affect him.

"Cassie knows who and what you are. I'm sure we can find something to keep you from starving," she said, trying to ease his worries and her guilt. There was little they could do until they reached their destination.

_We'll figure something out,_ she thought, trying to reassure herself.

Tiredness and exhaustion beckoned Buffy, and she leaned her head against Spike's shoulder. Her eyes were heavy as she got comfortable. Her mind still echoed with what to do about Spike's problem, but a small voice telling her to close her eyes and rest grew louder. She considered the friendly advice, giving into her exhaustion, letting go of her worries and concerns.

Out of reflex, she snuggled closer into Spike as her eyes closed. A small contented smile formed as Spike's arm wrapped around her, bringing her closer to him. It didn't take long for the first stirrings of dreams to take her, a sense of contentment replacing her worries as she drifted off.

Spike snorted, shaking his head as a small smile came to his face. He studied her face as she slept, wanting to freeze this moment, so it would never end. The last thing he wanted to do was to spoil this moment to worry about his problems. They would figure something out… they always did.

"I hope so, love… I really hope so," he whispered.

#### oOoOo

Dawn sighed as she sat down on the floor next to Willow, who had her eyes closed and resting her head against a bulkhead. Willow's voice caught her by surprise.

"You okay?"

Dawn recovered, sighing again, "Yeah, I'm just tired. You know, been a busy day and all that."

Willow snorted, but even that sounded tired, "Yeah, I hear you. Did the medic tell you to take a break?"

"If you mean that cute-looking blonde with blue-green eyes, then yes he did," Dawn laughed.

Willow had noticed the medic too, but for different reasons. He'd impressed her by how tirelessly he'd worked, checking and treating each injured person. The medic's professionalism surprised her, considering he didn't appear much older than Cassie.

Other than some bumps, scrapes and bruises, there'd been no more major injuries. Most of the major injuries were from the fighting in Sunnydale or the crash at the airport. Willow checked on Anya before taking this break. She was still unconscious, but the medic said she was stable.

Willow would find Xander after she had a break to update him on Anya's status. She knew he would want to know her condition, but the medic kept the area clear to treat the wounded. Her tired mind drifted as Dawn continued going on about the medic and how cute he was. She made a mental note to let Buffy know she might have to chaperone her sister once they got to their destination.

As her thoughts continued to drift, she opened her eyes and stared at the water bottle in her hand. Her scientific curiosity took hold as she lifted the bottle up-and-down several times, studying her moving arm and the water sloshing inside the bottle. Dawn's voice startled her.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? What?"

"Earth calling Willow… what's wrong?"

"Oh, sorry… I was just checking out gravity."

Dawn gave the Wiccan a funny look.

Willow picked up on Dawn's puzzlement, "It's strange. Everything I knew or watched about space had me expecting we would experience weightlessness or low gravity. It's like we're still on the ground."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, it's just not what I was expecting from being in space. They must have developed something that provides an artificial gravity environment."

Dawn shook her head, "You should stop thinking so much. Close your eyes and rest."

Willow laughed as her body agreed it was a good idea as she closed her eyes again.

#### oOoOo

A soft, beautiful voice saying his name filled Xander's dream. His subconscious registered the hand dabbing at his shoulder and began waking him up.

A part of him fought to stay asleep, but as he woke, he recognized the voice saying his name. Cassie greeted him with a small smile as he opened his eyes.

"Hey," Xander said, stretching and yawning as he woke up.

"Hey yourself," Cassie replied, giving him a bigger smile.

Out of reflex, a moment of anxiety filled him that something bad had happened, "Something wrong?"

Cassie shook her head, "No, everything's good. We're getting into visual range of the Arcadia. We'll be landing in less than twenty minutes. I thought you would want to come forward to watch."

A sigh of relief escaped Xander. For a moment, a worrying thought of Anya flashed through his head. Even though Willow had come forward to update him on Anya's condition and reassure him, he still worried about her.

"You're kidding, right?" he replied, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No, I'm not and you're not dreaming," Cassie replied. As if reading his mind, she leaned over and pinched his arm.

"Ouch! Okay… Okay, I believe you!" Xander laughed, pushing her hand away, "Lead on," he said, standing up to follow her.

A smile grew on his face as Cassie took his hand and led him to the command cabin. He'd only gotten a brief look when they'd been on the runway back in Sunnydale. This time he got the full tour. As he stepped into the cabin, the sight of the moon's surface, looming large to the left side of the ship, took his breath away. He glanced through the windows, taking in the void of space, grasping the vastness and emptiness of the darkness, making him feel insignificant.

"Whoa…" he muttered, taking in the view.

"Cool isn't it," Cassie said, observing Xander's reactions and recalling her first trip into space when she was back in the academy. She enjoyed watching his child-like wonderment as he turned his head side-to-side to take it all in.

Watching him improved her mood after the conversations she'd had with the pilots. She'd peppered them with questions about the battle and how they'd gotten here to this Earth.

Her heart sank as the pilots brought her up to speed on the situation as they knew it. Losing Commodore Lau and two-thirds of the Arcadia's crew along with the news they hadn't found a way home yet hit her hard. Added to this was the panic attack she suffered when she discovered the Arcadia's fighter group comprised Captain Coleiro… and now herself.

"Space… the final frontier…" Xander mumbled.

Cassie snapped back to the present, "Huh?"

A sheepish grin filled his face as he looked at her, "Um, nothing… just something I remembered from an old TV show I used to watch."

Cassie eyed him with a puzzled expression, but shrugged it off as something caught her attention, "There! Just coming into view now, you can see it," she said, pointing.

Xander saw a small object, standing out against the darkness of space. It surprised him Cassie spotted the ship so quick, but he remembered good vision was a major requirement for being a fighter pilot.

"Is that…?"

"Yup, that's the Arcadia." Cassie replied.

As the Horizont closed on the cruiser, Xander grasped the size difference between the two ships. He made out more details of the ship, noting the signs of battle damage that scarred the ship's hull.

Cassie noted the damage too as her conversations with the pilots replayed in her head. Memories and the previous conversation with the pilots came rushing back. They mixed with her memories of the battle which brought her to this universe, making her feel a little lost again.

"You okay?"

Cassie shook off the thoughts and memories, giving Xander a small smile and nod.

He saw that something was bothering her, but before he could ask, a voice came over the cabin's speaker.

_"Pelican-One… this is Reaper-One. Ready to disengage."_

Xander tried not to interrupt as the pilots worked, amazed by how professional they were, but did it in an almost causal effortless way.

"That's a roger, Reaper-One. Ready to disengage on your mark," one pilot replied, sounding almost bored.

_"Five… four… three… two… Mark!"_

The ship shuddered and Xander jumped as a hand touched his arm.

Cassie gave him a reassuring smile, "It's okay. That's just the fighter disengaging from the dropship. It has to land in a different part of the ship than us."

The voice came back over the radio, _"I'm clear Pelican-One… see you back in the barn."_

"That's an affirmative, Reaper-One. See you on board."

"There was a fighter attached to us?" Xander said.

Cassie nodded, "Yes, our standard fighters can't reach and break orbit without an add-on module or booster rocket. Sometimes our fighters have an add-on module, called the Beta, attached to it. It has bigger, more powerful engines and carries more missiles. Makes the Alpha an even more badass machine," she said.

As she spoke, Xander sensed the ship changing direction. He saw they were heading underneath the larger ship, "That was the fighter that became the robot back down at the airport?"

Cassie nodded, her attention focused on the pilots as they made their approach for the Horizont landing bay.

Excitement filled Xander as they approached the open landing bay. Yet, something bothered him. It took a moment for him to realize what it was as he turned to Cassie.

"I don't know who that guy in the fighter was, but he sounded more angry than happy to be back here."

#### oOoOo

Coleiro took a deep breath as the flight deck crewman waved for him to cut power. He hit the switches, and the display screens and flight controls shut off one-by-one as his fighter powered down.

For a long moment, he sat there as a jumble of thoughts and emotions whirled in him. The anger still boiled beneath the surface as he found his emotions in turmoil. He hadn't been this angry in years, and the old urges to strike out and hit something were pressing on him. As he exited the fighter, he took another deep breath, trying to bury everything that had lain dormant for years.

Coleiro didn't remove his helmet, drawing curious looks from the flight deck crew as he headed towards the hanger bay exit, but he didn't notice them. He'd almost escaped when a voice caught him from behind.

"You getting a little soft in your old age? You didn't go for the kills like you usually do?"

Coleiro froze in his tracks as the turmoil of emotions pulled on him. He'd been hoping to avoid Chief Larson. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to anyone, "Knock it off, Chief… I'm too tired for this."

Larson didn't want to leave it alone. She'd listened in on the communications from the rescue mission. The tone in the Captain's voice worried her. Now, confronting him only confirmed her suspicion that something was bothering him. She didn't want to bait her friend this way, but he buried his emotions, "You could have taken them out. Instead you shot out their engines," she said.

Coleiro ignored Larson and turned to leave the hanger bay. His sudden revisiting of old habits he'd left behind years ago worried her. The last thing she wanted was to revisit the past as those memories were anything but "good old days". She tried a different tack to snap him out of whatever was bothering him.

"I hear it was quite the fight on the surface, and you brought back some extra guests with you."

Larson tried not to show her relief as he stopped again and turned to face her.

_At least that's a start,_ she thought, reading a slight easing in his tense body language.

"I won't leave anyone behind! For those pilots, they didn't deserve to die for doing their duty. They're not our enemy," Coleiro replied, the edge coming off his voice.

Larson figured as much from what she'd overheard, but she wanted to hear it from him. She was familiar with all his moods and temperaments. It wasn't a good thing when he was this pissed.

The Captain had built up his walls over the years to deal with his problems. She didn't agree with it, but she knew enough not to interfere or tear at them. She'd done that once, but it'd been at a low point in the Captain's life, and it almost cost them their friendship.

_I haven't seen him this bad since that night…_

"Did something happen planet-side?"

"Leave it alone, Chief," he replied, using a tone saying he wouldn't discuss it further.

Larson shook her head as the Captain turned and left the hanger bay. She was still at a loss trying to figure out what was wrong, but hoped he would tell her when he was ready. She hoped it wouldn't take too long for him to snap out of it… for everybody's sake.

#### oOoOo

Giles was trying to decide if he was awake or dreaming as he walked down the ramp from the spacecraft. He squinted, adjusting to the bright lights of the landing bay as they disembarked from the ship.

All around, people in strange-looking uniforms rushed about with some coming up the ramp to help the injured off. Those uninjured grouped together at the bottom of the ramp, wondering what to do. Giles noted everyone had the same uneasy, unsure expression as they stood around waiting.

Buffy glanced around the landing bay, taking in everything and feeling overwhelmed, "So, what now?"

Giles appraised their situation and surroundings, "I guess we wait and find out what happens next."

"I've never been one to sit around," Faith said, yawning and stretching as she looked around.

"Well, it's not like we can walk home," Xander replied.

"I wouldn't mind having one of those fancy motorcycles, those things kick ass," Faith replied, smirking.

Xander was about to say something about how useless a motorcycle was in space when Cassie walked up accompanied by a man in a uniform.

"Everybody… this is Lieutenant Hanson, he's in charge," she said.

The group looked the young man up-and-down, noting his obvious nervousness and that he didn't look much older than Cassie.

Hanson recognized he was being studied by these strangers and became more self-conscious of his new role and responsibilities. Not wanting to let down the Captain, he took a deep breath and pushed pass his nervousness, taking charge of the situation.

He spoke in a loud clear tone, so the group could hear him, "We're moving all the wounded to medical. Everyone will follow and get a quick scan by the medics. Once you're cleared, we've got quarters set aside for everyone. There's also a cafeteria near your quarters, so you can grab some food."

"I'm not getting poked and prodded!" Faith said.

Hanson looked at the brunette. As their eyes met, any thoughts of staring her down or intimidating her evaporated as he took in her intense gaze. Her eyes reminded him of the older REF veterans like Captain Coleiro.

Cassie stepped in, seeing the Lieutenant stumbling into trouble, "It's okay, its standard procedure. They want to make sure we're okay and not carrying anything foreign and you're not exposed to anything that'll make you sick."

Giles thought the best thing was to co-operate. They needed to find out what was going on before deciding what to do next, "I think we should follow their lead," he said.

_For now,_ he left unsaid, making eye contact with Buffy. She picked up on his thoughts and nodded her understanding.

Faith watched as everyone followed Cassie and the Lieutenant Hanson. They joined the wounded being helped by the ship's medical personnel out of the landing bay.

"But I so hate needles," Faith muttered in resignation, letting out a sigh as she joined the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	17. Why is heaven such an angry place?

## CHAPTER SEVENTEEN  
Why is heaven such an angry place?

" _When I got my orders to go to Sunnydale, I was of two minds. First, I thought someone was playing a bad joke on me. Then, I was like,_ 'What did Buffy do now?' _I wasn't ready for what we found, let alone what would happen later..._ "

— Riley Finn

#### oOoOo

Coleiro finally took off his helmet as the doors to his quarters closed behind him, letting it drop to the floor. He realized the looks he'd gotten from the crew he'd passed, but he didn't care right now.

Breathing deeply to calm himself, his gaze drifted over to his desk and the picture sitting there. His eyes locked on the picture as he slowly moved towards the desk.

The picture was one of his few personal possessions left from a lifetime of service and traveling across the galaxy. He stared at the picture of him and Sonia, taken during better days just after the REF liberated Tirol. Before the darker days of T.R. Edwards and the REF Civil War and then the never-ending war against the Invid.

His eyes burned, taking in her beautiful face as memories of those last moments with her replayed in his thoughts. Other memories rose, threatening to tear down his walls, remembering his parents and baby sister on that last day in New Macross. He recalled the pain of living in that Brasilia shit-hole and the things he did to survive there.

_No... No... No...!_ he thought, fighting to push the old memories and pain back behind his wall.

As he continued staring at the picture, Sonia's face mingled with the image of the _thing_ he'd encountered down on the planet, sickening him. A momentary impulse to throw away the picture gripped him, but he couldn't do because it was the only thing he had left of her. He shoved the picture into his desk drawer, closing it as if would make the old memories and pain go away.

This tearing open of old wounds added to his lack of sleep and stress of combat. Coleiro felt himself crashing as he shed his body armor. He didn't bother getting out of his uniform as he collapsed on his bed, falling into a deep and dream-filled sleep.

#### oOoOo

Inside the lead Humvee, Riley Finn shook his head while viewing Sunnydale as the convoy of vehicles drove cautiously through the eerily quiet streets. Turret gunners, on each Humvee, swiveled their weapons back and forth looking for threats, ready to respond with a mix of M134 miniguns and Mk 19 grenade launchers.

Memories and emotions tugged at Riley as they moved along the empty streets, but the scenes from the airport were at the front of his thoughts. The disturbing images he'd witnessed made him wonder and worry about Sunnydale and the people.

Their mission plan was to investigate and check the Hellmouth, but Riley had them make a detour on the way there. As they turned on to Revello Drive, old memories of Buffy filled his thoughts, mixing with the growing worry and concern.

"STOP THE VEHICLE!" Riley shouted.

The order caught the driver by surprise, but he reacted, slamming on the brakes. The squeal of brakes and tires echoed through the air as the other vehicles stopped and gunners swung their weapons, looking for threats.

Before anyone said anything, Riley jumped from the vehicle, walking in a daze down the street. He'd seen the smoke rising, but he'd refused to believe the worse. He froze in his tracks, staring at the smoldering ruins of what remained of the house that once stood at 1630 Revello Drive.

Old memories engulfed him as he stared at the ruins, fighting back the rising bile in his throat, seeing the charred bodies strewn around the scene. Thankfully, the breeze blew the smell away from him. A stillness hung over everything, adding to the surreal atmosphere as he tried to grasp the scene in front of him. A voice broke the stillness.

"You okay?"

Riley turned away from the scene of devastation to face his wife, standing behind him. He noted her concern as he regained his composure.

"Yeah..." he said, turning back towards the ruins, "Yeah, I can't believe it. I figured it would be bad, but this? It doesn't seem real."

Samantha Finn studied the scene of devastation with a more clinical eye than her husband. She knew of his past relationship with Buffy and had even met her when they'd been through Sunnydale on a mission last year.

Her curiosity had her dig into Buffy's background, and what she found had her admiring and respecting Buffy even more for what she'd had to face. Despite this respect and admiration, warnings sounded in her head, noting the expressions on her husband's face as he looked over the scene. She wondered if he hadn't understated the depth of his feelings and relationship with Buffy.

Despite any wifely misgivings, she was a professional and compartmentalized her feelings because they were on mission and needed to focus. While not as emotionally invested in Sunnydale or its residents, she was as perplexed and confused as her husband about what had happened here and at the airport.

Samantha moved past Riley to study the scene closer, "Do you think any of those bodies are them?" She became worried when he didn't respond right away and was about to ask if he was all right when he replied.

"No... the bodies are all on the outside. They're spaced out like they were attacking the house and got cut down trying to get in," he said, his voice taking on a professional tone.

"Could they have been inside the house when it...?"

Riley shook his head, "No... if they died in the house, then how would you explain what happened at the airport? This happened first. It almost looks like they drew their enemy in, to cut down and thin their ranks... almost military style."

Old memories again played in Riley's head, _She wouldn't have died like this! She would have never gone out this way!_

"The airport was the last stop. We saw the school bus there. Plus, some of these corpses look like those Harbingers of Death we've dealt with before," he said, moving to study the scene closer.

"Maybe we should check out the Hellmouth?" Samantha said, keeping a concerned eye on her husband.

Riley nodded, "Yeah, we should get over there," he replied, turning away from the scene of destruction to head back to the Humvee.

#### oOoOo

On the drive to the Hellmouth, Riley's thoughts drifted as he stared at the empty houses and streets they drove past. Samantha and he were in Peru, dealing with a demon nest, when they got the call from General Coulson to get to Sunnydale ASAP. The General had provided little in the way of details other than it was urgent.

Despite the lack of details, Riley realized if it involved Sunnydale, then it involved Buffy and that meant it was serious... perhaps world ending.

They'd been lucky their flight was on final approach to Houston when the solar flares hit, causing the continental radar blackout. The ensuing chaos delayed them from continuing on to Edwards Air Force Base, but the urgency of their orders forced them to improvise. They arranged for helicopters to carry them and their team to their staging area, staying low to the ground, avoiding the chaos in the air.

Riley gave little attention or consideration about the "solar flares" only half-listening to the near hysterical news reports as he focused on the mission, Sunnydale and Buffy. It was only when the General gave them more mission detail specifics did he wonder if there was a connection between the blackout and Sunnydale.

_It's not what he said... It's what he didn't say and how he said it,_ Riley thought, recalling the General's last briefing. Since then, he'd sifted through news reports trying to find a common thread or link to tie everything together.

Yet, he still wasn't ready for what they encountered when they arrived at Sunnydale's airport. Shock didn't cover what he experienced when he saw the scene. It was obvious from the craters, bullets holes, and burned-out areas that someone had some serious firepower and fought a pitched battle here.

Then there were the burn marks everywhere. One of his team members opined the marks appeared caused by high intensity energy and heat... like a laser or plasma cutter. This made no sense because the US had no weapons like that operational or even at the field testing phase.

It was also surprising to find two brand new F-22 Raptors sitting parked on the runway. A brief conversation with the pilots uncovered they had made emergency landings here after suffering "battle damage". Before he could dig into this further, a massive convoy of black SUVs arrived at the airport. Men in black suits intervened, ending any further interviews and ushering away the pilots. They threw a security cordon around the planes, keeping everyone away, except for technicians who crawled over and under the fighters, inspecting them.

Riley realized this wasn't all a coincidence and hoped once he located Buffy she could provide answers. When they tried to go in to Sunnydale, the men in black tried to stop them, claiming jurisdiction over the whole situation. They backed off after a phone call to General Coulson.

Even with it being daylight, nervousness gripped Riley and his team as they drove through the silent town. Adding to the tension was the sound of the occasional Apache gunship flying over, cutting through the eerie quietness covering the town.

As they approached the high school and Hellmouth, more evidence and scenes of fighting having taken place greeted them. The convoy twisted its way around burned-out cars while everyone looked on in disbelief. Riley signaled the convoy to stop.

"Where's the high school?" Samantha said, checking GPS coordinates to confirm their location.

"There..." he said, nodding his head towards the huge pile of smoldering rubble.

"Jesus..." muttered the Humvee driver.

"That's one person you can bet who's never been in this town," Riley muttered, getting out of the vehicle. The stillness hanging over everything only put him more on alert. He was familiar enough with Sunnydale to understand evil, and danger lurked around every corner this close to the Hellmouth.

"Eyes and ears open! No wandering off... stay in pairs and regular check ins!" he ordered, moving towards the rubble to study the scene.

The rest of the team acknowledged his orders as they moved out in pairs. They may not have been as familiar with Sunnydale's history, but they'd seen enough to understand the dangers, taking their team leader's words to heart.

#### oOoOo

Coulson waited until Riley finished giving his update on the ground situation in Sunnydale before asking questions.

_"_ _What's your take on it?"_ the General said, his voice crackling on the line because of lag on the encrypted satellite phone.

"It's not what I expected," Riley replied, trying to still get a grasp on the situation. He suspected Coulson knew more of what was going on than what he was telling them.

_"Any sign of Summers or the others?"_

"No, and that's what worries me. We found the remains of several humans... female. We also found lots of remains we've identified as demon servants... classification 'Harbingers of Death'. There's also dust... lots and lots of dust. It tested positive for organic compounds... vampire remains," Riley paused, "Do you have any more info you can provide?"

The long pause, this time not caused by any lag, added to Riley's suspicions, _"No, there's nothing I can add,"_ Coulson replied. He realized Riley suspected something as he changed the subject, _"What do you think happened? What's the threat level from the Hellmouth?"_

Riley picked up on the General's shifting of topics, but played along for now, "We're dealing with someone or something that has some serious firepower. The Hellmouth and town are quiet. But someone was seriously pissed off. They did a good demolition job on the school, blowing the hell out of it and making sure it buried the Hellmouth. If something wants in or out of there, they'll need heavy equipment or a big shovel."

Flashbacks of the gun camera footage played in the General's head as Riley's choice of words piqued his curiosity, _"Why did you say shovel?"_

Riley paused, unsure if the General would believe him, "Sir, it may be nothing. We'll have a better idea once we've analyzed all the evidence, but there are indents... tracks in the rubble here and at the airport. These tracks appear almost foot-like," he paused, waiting for the General to laugh or scoff at his report.

When Coulson didn't rebuke him, it confirmed his suspicions about something more going on, "Whatever left these tracks, it's big and appears to be bipedal. If these are 'footprints' we estimate the unknown to be about thirty feet tall."

#### oOoOo

The beeping communicator, trying to get his attention, forced Coleiro to open his eyes. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but it wasn't restful as disturbed dreams left him exhausted. The anger still clung to him even in his half-awake state, souring his mood and mindset. The brief idea of ignoring the call entered his thoughts, but duty and responsibility exerted itself as he answered the communicator.

"Coleiro, here," he said, taking a breath to calm himself.

_"Lieutenant Hanson here. Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we have a... um... situation here in Medical with the people you brought back."_

Coleiro rolled his eyes, _What now?_

"Can't you handle it, Lieutenant?"

_"Sir, you need to come down here."_

Coleiro heard voices being raised in the background, like people were arguing, "What is it?"

_"It's... um... complicated, sir. I don't know if you would believe me if I told you,"_ Hanson replied, the confusion obvious in his voice.

"Lieutenant, I've seen a lot of weird shit in the last twenty-four hours. Anything you say wouldn't surprise me," Coleiro replied, shaking his head, trying to keep his growing anger in check.

_"It's just... please, sir! If you would just come down to Medical, it would be easier to show you."_

The Captain realized he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now. He gave into the Lieutenant's pleas, sighing in resignation, "Okay... okay, I'll be down in less than ten."

_"Thank you, sir!"_ Hanson said as Coleiro cut the channel. A small smirk flashed on his face, hearing the relief in the Lieutenant's voice as he got up.

#### oOoOo

_Anya watched a battle taking place in the hallways of a school. She recognized Sunnydale High School as yelling and screaming voices mixed with the roars of Turok-Hans echoing through the hallways. It was a strange dream, watching herself and Andrew fighting Bringers rushing at them, trying to swarm them. Everything seemed so real as she became mesmerized watching the scene play out. In the blink of an eye it was over... Anya wanted to scream as a sword wielding Bringer sliced her other self, killing her. She stared at her dead body lying on the floor before noticing the building shaking. Xander's voice calling her name caused her to look up from her dead body. As he ran past, calling for her, she tried to scream to get his attention, realizing he hadn't seen her among the other bodies littering the floor..._

As Anya became more aware of her surroundings, the first thing she noted were the arguing voices. The mix of male and female voices seemed to get louder and angrier. She picked up some of what they were saying.

"He's not alive..."

"Like one of those creatures down on the surface..."

"Put those guns down! He won't hurt anyone..."

"I've got no problems if you want to throw him into space..."

"If I go, I'm taking you with me, you sodding mouth breather! We'll see who can breathe in space..."

"Stop it! No one's throwing Spike out into space or shooting him..."

"I've called the Captain! He's coming down to sort out this situation..."

Still caught between consciousness and unconsciousness, a jumbled mix filled Anya's thoughts as she tried to make sense of everything.

_It sounds like heaven is an angry place? Buffy said heaven was a peaceful, happy place when she was there? Oh God, am I in the other place? Why would I be there? I fought for the good side... Oh yeah... all that time being a vengeance demon. You would think God would turn a blind eye to all that? Hopefully the other Anya got to go there?_

#### oOoOo

All Cassie wanted was a shower and then rack time. Yet, what she wanted took a back seat to finding herself caught in the middle of another situation getting out of hand. It had been going well ... even with Faith grumbling ... as they headed to Medical. Even then everything was going smoothly with the med-techs taking care of the wounded and checking everyone else out.

In hindsight, she should have expected what would happen and headed it off, but being back aboard the ship and exhaustion made her relax. Only when the med-tech ran the medical scanner across Spike and seeing the puzzled expression on their face did she realize her mistake. Before she could intervene, shouts filled the room with weapons being drawn as Buffy jumped in to get between Spike and the guards.

"STAND DOWN! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Cassie shouted, trying to use her rank to get control over the situation. She joined Buffy, standing with her to be a buffer between Spike and the REF personnel.

The med-tech stared at her scanner, then at Spike, "Lieutenant, he's not human! He has no life signs!"

Spike flashed a smirk, "Of course, I don't have any life signs! I'm dead, you git!"

Buffy let out an exasperated sigh, keeping her eyes on the guards, "You're not helping Spike," she said.

The med-tech stared at Spike, "H-How can you be moving and talking, if you're dead?"

"Don't do it Spike!" Cassie pleaded, dreading what would happen next.

Spike ignored Cassie, giving the med-tech a leering smile, "That's because I'm a bloody vampire," he said, changing to show everyone his true face.

Complete pandemonium broke out...

#### oOoOo

With everyone's focus on the unfolding confrontation, they didn't notice the man entering Medical. Only Faith noticed the new person's arrival. She'd moved into a corner to get a good view of the show, but also ready to jump in to help Buffy if things turned bad.

For now, she was glad Spike was the center of attention because it meant nobody was poking or prodding her. Besides, she found it fun to watch the unfolding mayhem because in this case she wasn't the cause. She tried not to laugh too hard when Xander joined the fray, offering to help the soldiers throw Spike into space.

With this older looking man, the sense of fun evaporated. From reading his body language and face, it was obvious something was pissing him off.

_Things are about to get really interesting..._

#### oOoOo

The brief temptation to turn around and go back to his cabin faded as Coleiro heard the raised voices coming from Medical. He continued on, letting out an exasperated sigh, wondering what the ruckus was about.

_Probably someone afraid of needles or hates hospitals..._

Everyone's focus was on the unfolding confrontation at the center of the room when he entered the triage area. Coleiro paused, surprised to see his security personnel pointing their weapons at a blond-haired man wearing a long black leather coat. Lieutenant Evans and another young woman stood between the man and the security personnel, acting like a buffer.

Everyone was arguing and pointing. It was obvious the situation was spiraling out of control... he needed to take control.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Everyone stared at Coleiro in a mix of shock and surprise as his voice reverberated through the room. He glimpsed the brunette he'd rescued standing in the corner, studying him. His mouth almost twitched into a small smile, but pushed it down, keeping his hard expression, as Lieutenant Hanson's voice echoed through the room.

"CAPTAIN ON DECK!"

Coleiro noted all the REF personnel—including Lieutenant Evans—standing to attention, frozen in place as he approached. The survivors recovered from the planet had confused looks on their faces. The exceptions were the man at the center of the situation, the woman standing next to Evans and the brunette.

"At ease," he said, watching his people relax, breathing a little easier knowing their Captain was here to fix the situation.

"Lieutenant Hanson, Report!"

Hanson tried to keep his calm and nerve as he approached, seeing the angry hard expression etched on the Captain's face.

"Sir, we were running medical scans on the people you brought back when we ran into a problem," the Lieutenant said, coming to attention in front of Coleiro.

"What problem, Lieutenant?"

Spike decided this was the moment to add his part to the conversation and explain who and what he was and tell everyone to sod off! He didn't know who this new guy was, but it would be a cold day in hell before he would bow or take orders from this fool. Before Buffy or Cassie could say anything or stop him, he stepped forward towards the two officers.

"The problem here Admiral is that your people don't know what to do with me because I'm a vamp—"

#### oOoOo

Faith studied the new guy as this situation took a new direction. She didn't know who he was, but it was obvious he was in charge from everyone's reactions. Watching his body language, she sensed something familiar about him, but couldn't place it. When Spike stepped forward, she shook her head seeing him take a difficult situation and make it worse.

_Not a good move there, Spike..._

As Spike threw gasoline on the fire, her Slayer senses sent warnings as she picked up on changes in the older man's body language. Spike hadn't even finished saying the word _'vampire'_ when the man reacted...

#### oOoOo

The whining sound of the weapon filled Spike's ears, finding himself staring down the barrel of one of those fancy laser guns. He noted the finger tightening on the trigger.

Shock rippled through the room at seeing the man now pointing a weapon at Spike's head. Even Buffy and Faith looked on in surprise as they had never seen anyone move that fast before... besides themselves. One moment the man was standing there, and in a flash had reached across and pulled the weapon from Lieutenant Hanson's holster.

Cassie overcame her shock, shouting, "SIR, HE'S A FRIENDLY!" trying to grab the Captain's attention.

A nervous smile came to Spike's face as he regained a measure of composure, "Easy there, Admiral... like the bird said, I'm a friendly. You know, a good guy. Hooray for us..."

Spike looked into dark eyes as a low, hard voice spoke, "You're a vampire! Give me a freaking reason why I shouldn't burn a hole through your head!" Coleiro said, his finger stroking the Gallant's trigger in anticipation.

"STOP IT! HE'S WITH US!" Buffy shouted, shifting closer to get a better position to jump in to intervene.

Spike knew that he was nothing but a pile of dust if this guy pulled the trigger. He caught Buffy's movements and understood what she was doing. But, seeing how fast the guy moved and looking into his dark eyes, he realized she couldn't stop the guy. This now added the risk of her getting hurt if she jumped in... that was something he couldn't let happen.

Spike met the man's dark eyes and recognized someone who'd killed before. The eyes betrayed that this man had seen too much like himself... there was no fear of death.

A moment of clarity struck Spike looking into those eyes. It differed from the feeling he experienced when looking into Buffy's eyes. Since becoming a vampire, he hadn't been able to see himself in a mirror. In those eyes, he now grasped what he'd been struggling with ever since regaining his soul... _regret_.

"Sorry mate, I can think of hundreds of reasons for you to pull the trigger. I can't think of a single reason for you not to," Spike whispered, his words tinged with sadness and regret.

Cassie held her breath, watching the showdown. She noticed Buffy and Faith shifting to jump in, but she knew they couldn't stop Captain Coleiro if he fired. She needed to defuse the situation, "Sir, Spike is a vampire, but he has a soul! He's with us. The others trust him and so do I," she said in a calm voice. Xander snorted at her saying the trust part, but she ignored him, continuing on, "Sir, you need to put down the weapon and we can discuss this."

The situation hung in the balance with everyone in Medical holding their breath. Everyone exhaled a collective sigh of relief as the Captain eased his finger off the trigger and lowered the weapon before handing it back to Lieutenant Hanson.

#### oOoOo

The inner voice in Coleiro's head kept telling him to reign it back in, allowing him to regain control. His anger flared at the word "vampire" and his reflexes took over.

The urge to kill the creature was strong, but his inner voice kept telling him he was Captain and he needed to find out what was happening. His eyes didn't leave the creature as he took a deep breath and regained his composure, handing a shaken Lieutenant Hanson his weapon back.

_These people may trust this creature, but this ship and the safety of everyone onboard is my responsibility..._

Coleiro showed no hesitation or fear as he stepped closer to the creature, getting face-to-face with it. He wanted this creature to understand who he was dealing with and the situation as their eyes locked, "If I see or hear about you stepping out of line. If I even think you're putting my ship and people at risk... I will end you! Do I make myself clear?" he hissed, not hiding his anger.

Spike had no doubts about this man killing him with no hesitation or remorse, "Perfectly," he muttered in reply.

The Captain stepped back, looking at Lieutenant Evans then Lieutenant Hanson, "Lieutenant Hanson, I want the medical checks finished up and quarters assigned to our guests."

"Yes, sir. I was planning on using the quarters on Deck-Eight," Hanson replied, looking more calm and relieved.

A small smirk flashed on the Captain's face, catching everyone off-guard, "I think we can do better for our guests. We can use the command quarters on Deck-Three. Those are much nicer accommodations, wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant?"

Hanson recovered, coming to attention, "Yes, sir! I'll make sure that everyone's squared away," he replied.

"Very good, Lieutenant," Coleiro said, turning to Cassie.

"Lieutenant Evans."

"Sir!"

"I want a debriefing with you in three hours on the observation deck."

"Yes, sir!"

"I assume that our guests have someone in charge that can represent them?"

"Yes, sir! There's—," Cassie replied, but he cut her off.

"I can meet them after we've finished with our debriefing. We can discuss our situation and what we'll do next."

Cassie nodded, "Understood, sir."

Coleiro returned the nod, then glanced around the room. He tried to get a sense of these people, noting the looks he was getting from them. He toyed with doing introductions, but after events he wasn't in the mood for it. It was best to let things cool down and then go from there.

"Carry on then," he said, taking one final look around the room before turning and leaving.

#### oOoOo

_The guy moves like a ghost,_ Faith thought, studying the older man as he left. She made her way over to Cassie with Buffy, joining them.

Buffy shook her head, trying to understand what she'd witnessed, "Who's that guy?"

"That's Captain Coleiro. He's in command of the Arcadia," Cassie sighed, relieved a firefight hadn't broken out.

Faith smirked, "If you ask me, he takes himself way too seriously."

"Did you not see how fast he moved?" Buffy said, a slight awe filled her voice.

Faith shrugged, "Okay, I'll give you that. He's fast," she admitted, "But it takes more than reflexes in a fight."

"Oh, he's more than just reflexes," Cassie said, shaking her head in disbelief as Faith trashed one of the REF's few living legends.

"What do you base that on?" Faith said.

"Who do you think was driving the Cyclone and flying the fighter that saved all our asses?" Cassie said, looking towards the door where the Captain had exited. She didn't see their surprised looks at this revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	18. That pretty much sums up the situation…

## CHAPTER EIGHTEEN  
That pretty much sums up the situation…

_"I skipped that first meeting with Paul {Coleiro}. Later, the others went on about it, and at the time I rolled my eyes at them. Considering how events played out, I've always wondered if things would have turned out the same way if I had met him then rather than later..."_

— Faith Lehane

#### oOoOo

The urge to close his eyes and massage his temples was strong as the pain in Coleiro's head grew. Despite the growing headache, Coleiro gave Lieutenant Evans, sitting across from him, his full attention as she detailed her experiences and events down on the planet. As she made her report, he made mental notes on what he wanted to follow up on... especially the thing she called The First Evil.

A surge of hate and anger flowed through him as his mind wandered back to the encounter with this creature, _I've got a lot of questions for our guests. I hope they can give me answers..._

He realized the Lieutenant was waiting for him, "Ahem... Thank you, Lieutenant Evans, a very detailed report. I can appreciate your situation and events. You handled yourself well considering the circumstances," Coleiro said, recovering from his momentary lapse.

Cassie struggled not to gush at getting praise from Captain Coleiro. A wisp of a smile, forming on her face, betrayed the enthusiasm she was trying to contain.

The Captain noted Evans's suppressed excitement, maintaining his serious face as they moved on, "Lieutenant, as you're aware our situation is precarious."

"Yes, sir."

"We're in an alternate universe in orbit around an Earth, which after our little visit to the surface, will more likely shoot first rather than ask questions. We're short-handed with no support and no way of getting reinforcements... and Arcadia's air group comprises myself and you."

Cassie gulped, "Yes, sir," as the enormity of their situation weighed on her. She struggled to keep the growing voice of doubt at the back of her thoughts in check.

"And to add a cherry to this Charlie-Foxtrot situation we find ourselves in. It appears there are demons and vampires running across this Earth... if I understand everything you've told me."

Cassie gulped again, "Yes, sir. That pretty much sums up the situation."

Coleiro grimaced, meeting Evans's eyes, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I want to ask one more thing... WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING BRINGING ONE OF THOSE CREATURES ON THIS SHIP?"

The Captain's outburst caught her by surprise. She blinked, trying to gather her thoughts, "S-Sir... about Spike... the others trust him and I trust them. I trust them with my life," she said, recovering her voice and confidence.

Coleiro studied Evans, noting her nervousness, but also the firmness in her voice. A small sigh escaped, "Okay, Lieutenant. I'll accept your word on this. I've already made my feelings known about what will happen to this _person_ if he steps out of line. Do you hear me, Lieutenant?" he said, giving her a hard glare.

Cassie sat straighter in her chair under his glare, "Crystal, sir," she replied with no hesitation.

The Captain's hard face softened, "So, is there anything else I need to know about these people we've picked up? I'm not going to find out one of them is a unicorn, a werewolf or a wizard, am I?" he said, adding a small laugh.

Cassie tried to not gulp again. She hadn't explained to the Captain yet about everyone and what they were, "Um, sir. About that..." she said, adding a nervous laugh.

#### oOoOo

Buffy's head spun in every direction, trying to take everything in as she acclimatized to her new situation. A soldier was leading her along with Giles, Dawn, Willow, Xander and Robin down a corridor towards the ship's main elevators. Like her, the others also gawked, except for Giles, who was putting up the stereotypical appearance of English reserve. Yet, Buffy could read his body language and tell he was just as nervous as the rest.

They'd only been onboard for a few hours, and despite the hospital incident with Spike, everyone was relaxing and settling in. Buffy didn't know what to expect when Lieutenant Hanson led them to where they would be staying. The first pleasant surprise was their rooms. Compared to the cramped conditions of the house back in Sunnydale, these were spacious and luxurious.

It only got better as Hanson took them around, showing them the dining area, gymnasium and pool available for them to use. Everyone was still overcoming the shock of seeing a swimming pool in space as Lieutenant Hanson outlined the other amenities available on the ship. The young—and according to Dawn—cute looking Lieutenant told them the ship worked on a standard 24-hour schedule with some services only available during daytime hours.

When Lieutenant Hanson informed everyone that their quarters had their own bathrooms, the group released a collective sigh. The Lieutenant's expression was priceless as squeals of delight erupted when he told them about the private showers and that there was plenty of hot water.

It seemed almost unreal as everyone settled into their rooms. To the Potentials, it was like being on a luxury cruise after the hell of Sunnydale. For Buffy and the others, they experienced cautious optimism, noting the security guards posted along the deck.

Even with the guards, Buffy didn't feel threatened or worried. The crew's friendliness and willingness to help, seeing to their needs by providing extra clothing, towels and toiletries for them, put her more at ease. Yet, old habits die hard as she felt a need to keep a watchful eye on the situation.

It was a few hours later when a soldier came into their area calling for Buffy that her wariness level increased. It surprised her when the soldier asked her to gather her "command team" and follow him. The soldier allayed her suspicions when he explained that they were going to the observation deck to meet with the Captain and Lieutenant Evans.

She found it funny for the soldier to refer to her and her friends as a "command team". She was familiar with the military mindset from her time with Riley and her exposure to The Initiative. The truth was they weren't even close to being organized, though not for a lack of trying. Everyone understood their role and did their job, but it wasn't in their DNA to organize like that.

She recalled how Doctor Walsh derided her on her lack of teamwork skills and "lone wolf" attitude... right before trying to kill her. She acknowledged and appreciated her friends for being there for her and giving her strength at those crucial times. They were one big reason for her surviving this long. Yet, being the Slayer meant her—and Faith—were ultimately on their own.

_Maybe not being organized is one reason we've survived this long?_ she thought, gathering everyone to go meet with the Captain.

As they approached the elevators, Buffy wished again that Faith had joined them to meet the Captain. She was a little put off with Faith's decision to bail, choosing instead to take advantage of the new accommodations and grab some sleep.

It had been an easy decision not to include Spike in this first meeting. After the incident in Medical, they wanted to let the situation cool down. He raised no objections to skipping this meeting, which Buffy was thankful for. She remembered she needed to discuss and arrange for Spike's special "dietary needs".

As they rode the elevator up, she had no idea what to expect from their meeting with the Captain. After the incident in Medical, she found it hard to get a sense of what kind of person he was. She hoped a one-on-one meeting would answer these questions and provide them with a better idea on their status and situation.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out into something straight from a sci-fi movie. Buffy smirked, catching Xander's gasp as he stood rooted to the deck, staring at an immense room of workstations and display screens. She was unfamiliar with how spaceships worked, but the layout and apparent functionality impressed her. The observation window with the moon surface looming close and stars everywhere drew her gaze.

She tried not to laugh at Xander as he gawked at the large chair in the center of the room, overlooking and dominating the other stations. From the movies and TV shows she'd watched, she figured that was the Captain's chair. Cassie and the Captain were nowhere in sight, which surprised her.

Before she could ask, the soldier directed them towards another set of elevators. As they moved to this new set of elevators, she thought she overheard Xander mumble, "Mister Sulu... go to Warp Five."

She brushed off his mutterings as she got on this new elevator, _How big is this ship?_ she wondered, trying to get a sense of its size.

As they rode up, it surprised Buffy to find herself getting nervous about this meeting. Again, her thoughts drifted to what happened with Spike and tried not to let it cloud her thoughts and opinion of the Captain. She only had a loose impression of the man based on the events in Medical and Sunnydale along with the observations Faith provided from her own encounters. The only thing she could say with any certainty was that the man was dangerous and not to underestimate him. She hoped the Captain was like Cassie or even Riley... she could deal with that.

The elevator door opened... the bridge view had impressed them, but this breathtaking view was something else. The moon and a sea of stars filled the clear observation dome on three sides. As she took in the vast view of space, Buffy fought off a touch of vertigo along with a sudden sense of feeling insignificant. A familiar voice brought her back.

"Hi everyone... welcome aboard," Cassie said, smiling as she moved to greet them.

Buffy hadn't seen Cassie since leaving Medical, so it was surprising to see her looking very much the proper soldier again. Buffy tried not to laugh, catching Xander checking Cassie out.

_One thing about these people, they're not shy about form fitting uniforms,_ Buffy thought, trying again not to laugh as Cassie and Xander awkwardly greeted each other. She understood Cassie was trying to maintain a sense of decorum in the Captain's presence, but the redness on her face was a giveaway of her genuine feelings. It was lucky her back was to the Captain to avoid any complications.

Cassie finished greeting everyone and turned to introduce the man standing up from the conference table, moving towards them, "Everyone, this is Captain Paul Coleiro. He is the commanding officer of the REF Arcadia."

Everyone in the group got a good chance to study and form their own opinion of the approaching man. For Buffy, the word that best described the Captain was... _killer_. She didn't know where the thought had come from, but she trusted her instincts. As he stopped in front of her, she found their eyes meeting and surprised to be gazing into dark eyes that seemed almost black as space.

"You must be Buffy. Lieutenant Evans told me all about you. Are you getting settled in?" the Captain said, giving her a smile.

The Captain's smile caused her heart to skip a beat, catching her by surprise. His smile seemed out of place on such a serious face, but she noted how it gave him more character. When he offered her his hand, Buffy didn't hesitate. It surprised her when he applied firm pressure in his handshake. Most men that shook her hand only gave her a weak grip on the assumption she was just some weak dumb blonde. She replied in kind with her grip, but kept her Slayer strength in check.

Their eyes met again and Buffy lingered a little longer this time. His smile grew, causing her to do another appraisal of the man, but of a different and more intimate nature. She realized she hadn't answered his question.

She shook off the awkward pause, finding herself unable to get a handle on the Captain, "Y-Yes... Yes, the rooms you've provided are great! I've never imagined being in space and see a swimming pool."

The Captain gave her another smile, causing Buffy to feel awkward in front of the older man, "Well, we like to travel in luxury. When you travel between star systems, it takes time and we want to make sure everyone's comfortable."

Buffy gushed like a teenage girl, letting out a small laugh, surprising herself and drawing strange looks from the others. She caught a glance of Xander rolling his eyes and shaking his head, but she couldn't hear what he was muttering.

Maybe it was room's atmosphere with the moon, so close you could touch it, surrounded by a sea of stars that was causing Buffy's giddiness. Except it was more than that. Where other men would have been patronizing and condescending, the Captain wasn't. It was his tone, his expressions and the handshake adding to this moment. In just those few gestures, she realized the Captain accepted her... respected her with no questions or doubt. She understood she didn't have to prove herself to him.

As the Captain moved on to introduce himself to the others, Buffy's gaze followed him, checking him out. She watched as the Captain greeted everyone, exchanging a few words and seeing them warm up to him.

_It's probably a good thing that Faith's not here,_ she thought, finding herself experiencing a mix of excitement and arousal.

She watched as Dawn gushed, mirroring her own introduction when the Captain shook her hand. A little voice of alarm echoed in Buffy's head to keep an eye on her sister if she was experiencing the same feelings as her. What surprised her was watching Willow's reaction... she looked like she was giving serious consideration to changing her sexual orientation.

"Please, take a seat everyone. We have much to discuss," Coleiro said, still smiling as he swept a hand towards the seats clustered around the conference table.

#### oOoOo

Coleiro had dialed up the charm to max for this meeting. It was a well-earned skill forced upon him to develop as a matter of survival after the death of his family and destruction of New Macross. That hellhole of Brasilia was a world class education in survival. Trying to survive there forced him to learn the ways of the street… knowing how to read people, knowing when to run, and when to fight.

He'd relied primarily on knowing when to run until he'd gotten bigger, stronger, and learned how to fight. Luckily, he'd inherited decent looks and had an outgoing personality... when he used it. Those skills only got honed and improved over time and with lots of experience. He'd lost count of how many times his charm and smile had gotten him out— _or into_ —a sticky situation, especially with the opposite sex.

This time he had no ulterior motives for his charm offensive other than to build goodwill and put on a better face after the incident in Medical. He still wasn't happy having a vampire on his ship, but he would defer to Lieutenant Evan's judgement... for now. It was still somewhat difficult to grasp what was happening down there. If he hadn't been down there to see it with his own eyes, he would have called Evans crazy.

He glanced again at Buffy, studying the young woman. The word 'Slayer' echoed in his head as he wrapped his mind around what she was and what she did. He didn't know what to expect of her, but sized her up as she got off the elevator.

Despite the initial shock she showed seeing space close-up, he recognized a predator when he saw one. She moved with a smooth grace, but appeared ready to react to any hostile threat. Evans had explained about the Slayer's gifts of strength and reflexes. He'd gotten a sense of her strength when they shook hands and could tell she was holding back. It was her eyes that intrigued him the most. He saw in her eyes someone that had seen a lot of fighting, but still wanted a normal life.

He knew that Buffy was studying him as he caught her glancing at him as the meeting went on. A whisper from his younger self echoed in his thoughts, making a lewd comment about her as he recognized the look she was giving him. Coleiro brushed the whispers away. He was too old to play those games again as he compared her to Sonia. It was a struggle to keep his composure as memories of her mixed with that thing from the planet replayed in his thoughts.

_I'm too old for this... Love and sex is a young man's game. Feelings just get in the way..._

Coleiro shook off the old memories and desires, refocusing on the meeting. When they'd started, he'd been debating about how much he should tell these people.

After getting to know these people better and also because of their situation, there wasn't any reason to keep information from them. It was better to be honest and forthcoming rather than cause further problems and mistrust. He had to suppress a laugh at the thought.

_How many times, and how many women asked me to be a little honest and forthcoming? Besides, it's not like these people will call up the Invid. Hell, we don't even have a Protoculture matrix to make more energy cells. Once we're out of energy cells... that's the end of Robotechnology. If we get home, they can court martial me if they want to. It's been quite a while since Admiral Hunter chewed me out for breaking regs._

With his decision made, he briefed everyone on the current situation...

#### oOoOo

Giles studied Captain Coleiro as he briefed everyone on how he and his ship had arrived and their current situation. It was a sobering moment for Giles and the others to hear two-thirds of the crew had died during the event that brought them here.

He listened intently as the Captain continued on, stopping to answer questions and taking the time to explain terms they didn't understand.

By this time, Giles had formed a good impression and a sense of the Captain. He appeared to be a complex person and character. This complexity seemed amplified by the physical presence he projected. He appeared to be in his late thirties to early forties, standing just a shade over six feet tall. His uniform seemed to highlight and accentuate his firm athletic, but not muscle bound frame, letting him project a forceful presence. Giles knew nothing of the other Earth, but the Captain looked to be of either Italian, Spanish descent or somewhere from around the Mediterranean.

_Coleiro... the name sounds Italian, Spanish or even Portuguese..._

Giles noted that the Captain appeared honest and friendly on the surface, but it was his eyes that gave more away. The Captain's dark eyes reminded him of a predator... of someone who'd seen many battles and killed before. Even when he was cracking small talk, Giles saw the Captain studying and evaluating them. It wasn't a conscious thing he was doing, in a way the Captain reminded him of Buffy.

What surprised Giles was how Buffy, Dawn, and even Willow seemed to gush over the Captain. They were acting like school girls with a crush on their teacher. He had to admit the Captain seemed to exude an aura of rakish boyish charm that complemented the rest of his traits.

_Spike could only wish he was like the Captain, especially with that smile and how he looks at you with those intense eyes. He knows how to read and talk to people. The Captain's charms seem to have won over the women, but he's not affecting me! Though, it was surprising to see how he took the time to listen to my question and answer it. It was quite considerate of him to take the time..._

#### oOoOo

Xander was the first to voice the question hanging over the meeting, "So what are you going to do?"

Coleiro shrugged, "We have limited options. Our engineers are still working on repairs to our space-fold system, and we also have repairs to perform to the ship. We know so little about alternate dimensions that right now it's all guess work and we're flying blind here. The Robotech Masters studied and traveled to alternate dimensions using their knowledge of Protoculture. What we understand is only scrapping the surface. If we had their knowledge or access to similar sources about alternate dimensions it would be of immense help."

The Captain almost missed it, but he caught looks exchanged between Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Xander and Giles.

_They know something..._

Giles didn't want to say anything about Dawn's circumstances as he and the others exchanged glances. They didn't know the Captain well enough to be telling him that Dawn was "The Key" containing ancient mystical energy that could unlock the gates between dimensions. That much power was a terrible temptation, and Giles feared what the Captain would do if he found out about Dawn.

_We need to keep quiet about Dawn for now... We need to talk about this more, and in private..._

That didn't mean they couldn't help in other ways, "Captain Coleiro, we have some knowledge and experience dealing with alternate dimensions. Our experience is dealing with the world of demons and using magic to open and close portals to those hell dimensions. Willow has an extensive knowledge, and I'm sure she would share that information with you," Giles said.

Coleiro eyed Giles as he considered his offer, "I don't know how magic will help our situation," he replied, sounding skeptical.

"I can assure you Captain. Willow is not only a powerful Wiccan, but she has a good education and knowledge of the sciences," Giles replied.

Before the Captain could reply Willow jumped in, "I would be glad to help! Cassie... um... I mean, Lieutenant Evans gave me a basic understanding of Robotechnology and Protoculture. It sounds mind-blowing! The ability for machines to change their shape and control them!" she said, trying to contain her excitement at the thought of studying this new technology.

Coleiro saw the young woman's enthusiasm and excitement. He wasn't about to turn down free offers of help, "Okay, I'll arrange for a sit down with our Chief Engineer. He can answer your questions on the technical side and you can work together. A fresh set of eyes and perspective might see something we've missed, or maybe some of this... um... magic might be the answer."

The Captain tried not to laugh when he said the word... _magic_. Magic spells and incantations seemed crazy, but it was real on this world. Besides, Robotechnology and Protoculture appeared to work like magic to these people.

Buffy listened intently to the Captain, studying him as he spoke, trying to get a better sense of him... at least that's what she told herself. Like Giles, she wasn't ready to divulge anything about Dawn. Yet, she was also genuinely concerned and sympathetic to their plight, "So what are you going to do if you can't get back to your dimension?"

Coleiro sighed, catching everyone by surprise, "If we can't find a way home, our plan is to make our ship as combat-capable as we can. We'll then execute a space-fold back to the Local Group... the area of the galaxy where we're based in our dimension. Once there, we'll check things out and see if any of the races from our dimension also exist in this dimension. If they do, we'll determine if there is a threat to us and to this Earth."

The thought of Cassie leaving to go across the galaxy into the unknown stabbed at Xander as he glanced at her, "If there is a threat? What then?"

"We'll gather as much information as we can and return to Earth to help prepare and mount a defense."

Dawn spoke up, catching Buffy and the others by surprise, "What happens if you find those... um... aliens and they're friendly?"

Paul gave the teenager a smile at her brashness, getting a huge blush from her, "We're human and our oath is to protect and defend humanity and Earth. We've made no definite plans, but most of my crew are from Tirol. If there's no threat then we may stay in that corner of the galaxy."

A lump formed in Xander's throat and stomach at the thought of Cassie leaving forever, "If there's no threat, why can't you stay here?"

Coleiro had picked up the glances and interactions between Lieutenant Evans and the young man. He wasn't that old and out of practice to realize what was going on. A part of him sympathized with the young man, "Before we get ahead of ourselves here, there's still a lot of work ahead of us. We have to make sure our space-fold system is working and we've completed all the other repairs. We also need to select and train replacement pilots to bring Arcadia's fighter groups up to strength. That means we have at least a couple weeks before—"

Robin spoke up, cutting off the Captain, "So, what happens to us in the meantime?"

Coleiro eyed the other man, holding back his standard rebuke. He realized the other man... that none of them were military. He would cut them some slack... for now.

"You can stay with us as our guests for as long as you want," he said.

The uncomfortable looks the group shared amongst themselves surprised him.

"What happens if we want to go home right now?" Robin said, eyeing the Captain.

Coleiro had expected this question, "Unfortunately, because of our rescue and recovery mission, we've now alerted the military forces on your planet to our presence. If we tried to take another dropship down to the surface, we would most likely encounter stiff resistance. I can't guarantee its safety and I won't put your lives or my crew's lives at risk."

"So, we can't go home?" Giles said.

Coleiro shook his head, "No, I didn't say that. We need to give the situation some time to cool down. Once things settle down, we can ferry you down in small groups in our fighters. Keep it small and quiet, staying to isolated areas so we don't get noticed."

Dawn spoke up, "Why can't you tell everyone down there you're friendly?"

Giles beat the Captain to the response, "Dawn, these people represent a level of knowledge and technology we can barely comprehend. Unfortunately, our history is full of examples of people lashing out at things, people and ideas they didn't understand or feared. There are groups and countries that would stop at nothing to get a hold of this ship and control it. If they can't control it, then they would rather destroy it to keep it from others."

The Captain nodded, agreeing with Giles. He'd been thinking along those same lines, "Besides, it's not like we'll run out of food, water or air if you stay aboard. We're fitted out with lots of facilities and amenities for long deployments away from our base."

Buffy shifted the conversation back to her areas of concern, "What about the Hellmouth?"

"You tell me? How much of a threat is this thing?" Coleiro said, his voice taking on a harder edge as he recalled his encounter there.

The change in his tone at the mention of the Hellmouth caught Buffy and the others by surprise. She noted the changes in his body language as he appeared to tense up.

_Something happened down there and it pissed him off..._

Giles also picked up on the changes, "Did something happen to you back at the Hellmouth?"

Coleiro cursed himself for losing control of his emotions. He was in no mood to talk about his encounter or Sonia as he tried to deflect the conversation, "What can you tell me about this The First Evil?"

Gasps and looks of shock filled the faces around the table at the Captain asking about The First.

Giles shrugged, "I'm sorry to say we have little information about this creature. It's an ancient non-corporeal entity of pure evil and malice that predates our history. The First can't touch or harm you, but uses servants to do its bidding in those regards. This creature appears to go for a more sinister psychological form of attack."

"It tries to push all your buttons and get you to do things!" Dawn blurted out in excitement.

"Dawn!" Buffy said, showing someone embarrassment at her sister's lack of control and manners.

"It's true! It messed with Anya and almost got all of us killed!" Dawn added.

Giles recovered from the interruption, "Ah... um... yes, that's what The First does. Besides the servants it uses, The First tries to manipulate others to do its own dirty work," he replied. The thought of Captain Coleiro and The First Evil interacting with each other concerned him.

Giles studied the Captain, "If you don't mind me asking, Captain. What was the nature and type of interaction you had with The First?"

Coleiro gave Giles a hard stare, his voice taking an even harder tone, "It's personal and we'll leave it at that. I collapsed the building, burying everything under rubble."

"Burying it will only—" Buffy added.

"Yes, I realize we're only delaying it," the Captain said, cutting her off.

He ignored the look she was giving him as he continued on, "Would a 100-kiloton Reflex warhead set for ground penetration have any effect? Would that seal it?"

Coleiro noted the puzzled expressions. Giles spoke up, "By 100-kiloton, are you referring to a nuclear weapon?"

Coleiro nodded, "Yes, but enhanced with Protoculture. We get a bigger bang out of a smaller warhead size. We can fit one into a ground attack missile, setting it for deep penetration with a delayed action fuse... no more Hellmouth."

Everyone stared at the Captain with incredulous looks, not sure they heard him right or if he was crazy.

#### oOoOo

There was much discussion among the group as they returned to their quarters...

"Can you believe that guy? He actually wants to drop a nuke on the Hellmouth! That's crazy! Right?" Xander said, looking between Giles and Buffy.

Buffy looked to Giles, "Is Xander right? Will a nuclear weapon destroy the Hellmouth?"

She noted Giles deep in thought when he didn't respond right away, "Giles?"

"Ah... sorry, Buffy. I was just going over the meeting in my head. What was it you were asking?"

"I said, will a nuke take out the Hellmouth?"

Giles shrugged, "I don't know. The energies and magics that live in and around the Hellmouth create such uncertainty. It's something that would need more study to see what the repercussions are. I think we might have a bigger issue... the Captain appears to be in a foul mood regarding the Hellmouth and The First. For the time being we need to tread carefully," he said, still ruminating on the Captain's suggestion.

"Yeah, he was sure pissed off about The First. I wonder what happened," Xander said.

A moment of silence descended on the group. Dawn shattered the silence, "Wasn't the Captain hot looking?"

Everyone gaped at her while Buffy choked in surprise at her sister's comment.

"We're talking about dropping a nuclear bomb on the Hellmouth and Sunnydale, and all you can think about is how hot the Captain is?" Buffy said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know all about the nuke... blah blah blah... world ending," Dawn said.

"This is serious!" Buffy said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Dawn shook her head, "I know it's serious! It's always serious! So, I noticed the Captain is a hottie, so what? That doesn't mean I stopped living. Didn't you notice how dark and intense his eyes are?" Dawn said, getting an infatuated look on her face.

Alarm bells rung in Buffy's head at her sister's obvious growing crush on Captain Coleiro, "Willow, help me out here?" she pleaded, looking to her friend for help.

Willow's face took on a funny look, "Sorry, Buff, but Dawnie has a point. He is hot looking in a mature, dangerous sort of way."

"Will!" Buffy and Xander exclaimed at the same time.

A sheepish expression filled Willow's face, "I may be gay, but that doesn't mean I can't notice him."

"I'd do him." Robin said in a matter-of-fact tone, catching everyone by surprise.

There was a moment of utter disbelief as everyone looked at Robin.

Buffy didn't quite believe what her former boss said, "W-What?"

Robin shrugged, "I'm just saying that as a good looking man, comfortable with his sexuality, the Captain's got the complete package going for him. The guy looks like a player, and if I was a woman or played that way, I would find him attractive."

Buffy shook her head, wondering how they had gone from talking about nuking the Hellmouth to discussing how hot the Captain looked. Yet, she couldn't deny how she'd felt when they'd met. She pushed back on those feelings, telling herself she was too old to go through some school girl crush.

_Dawn is right though, he's got those dark intense eyes. You could just lose yourself in there..._

Buffy brushed off the thoughts of desire, noting Xander's face taking on a strange contemplative look too, "Xander, not you too?"

Xander shrugged, an embarrassed sheepish expression plastering his face, "Buff, he's the Captain of a spaceship and a fighter pilot. He's got this whole Captain Kirk vibe, and you got to admit, it sounded kind of cool when he talked about nuking the Hellmouth."

Buffy couldn't help herself as she laughed and nodded. Giles sighed, shaking his head while muttering to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	19. Don't hurt or break him…

## CHAPTER NINETEEN  
Don't hurt or break him…

_"I'll never forget that day... meeting and being with Anya was one of the best moments of my life. I think it would have been even a better day if we'd stayed away from the gymnasium..."_

— Lionel Bronowski

#### oOoOo

Anya's restlessness and grumpiness grew with each passing day still confined to the hospital. Four days had passed since waking up in this strange-looking hospital, suffering a severe concussion on top of all her cuts and scrapes. As a precaution, the medical staff kept her for observation.

It wasn't anything the medical staff was doing to upset her. They'd been courtesy and pleasant, but she wanted to leave and join the others. It bothered her they already cleared and released Andrew, but figured it was one more sign of a higher power at work punishing her.

It's not like she was alone or isolated. She got plenty of visitors with Xander, Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Giles and even Cassie stopping in to visit and check on her, but it wasn't the same. Dawn kept her up on all the latest happenings and gossip, but it still frustrated her that everyone got to explore while she was still in the hospital. She wanted to see everything on the ship that Dawn babbled on about when visiting... especially Captain Coleiro. The medical staff told her they wanted to keep her two more days, which only added to her growing irritability.

The worst thing about being stuck in hospital was the time it gave her to reflect and ponder. She kept replaying her encounter with The First Evil... appearing as Olaf. The creature's words and taunts hung over her along with the memory of what she almost did.

It became a vicious cycle because the more she thought about it, the more irritable and grumpy she became. She fell into a funk with her grumpiness flaring when Xander came to visit. That Cassie tagged along only exacerbated the situation, her presence a reminder of everything going wrong with her life. Even when Cassie stayed behind, trying to explain and apologize, did nothing to mollify or sooth her mood.

The other woman's attempts at friendliness only soured Anya's mood more. It had more to do because a part of her realized that Xander and her had been over ever since him leaving her at the altar. An inner voice kept telling her it was time to move on, but she didn't know how.

The crux of her dilemma was she'd spent centuries punishing men for the wrongs they committed against women. Her sudden transition back to humanity had been a difficult one.

Then she met Xander...

She cared and loved him, and then he'd hurt her. He said he did it to spare them both from a life of misery, but it didn't lessen the pain. To escape the pain, she gave up her humanity to D'Hoffryn to become a vengeance demon again.

Even as a demon she couldn't escape her pain, discovering she no longer had the stomach or desire for the work. She'd wanted out, but even then there had been a price and pain... the cost of Halfrek's life for her release still weighed on her conscience.

She didn't know what to do with her life or even know how to live her life. Everything she knew revolved around the demon world... whether being a demon or fighting demons. Stuck in the hospital, she had nothing but time to think about this along with everything else.

She rolled over on to her side, and in a futile attempt tried to sleep. Even if she could sleep, it brought no solace or respite. She'd been experiencing reoccurring nightmares of watching herself die in the high school or being left behind and forgotten by everyone.

A deep sigh escaped as she lifted her head and punched her pillow out of a mix of frustration and trying to get more comfortable. As she settled her head back down a man's voice startled her.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?"

#### oOoOo

Sergeant Bronowski planned to visit Medical sooner, but helping with the repairs on the Arcadia took up all his time. Whenever he finished his work detail, it was too late or too exhausted.

As each day passed the guilt built up at not having gone to check on the woman he'd saved down on the planet. The Captain ordering the crew to stand down for a day to rest and relax solved his growing dilemma. There was now no excuse to put off his visit as he made his way to Medical.

Bronowski checked in first with the med-techs to make sure the patient could have visitors. It relieved him to learn the woman was doing okay, but when they commented on her moodiness, he considered putting off the visit. He changed his mind, recalling his own extended hospital stays and how depressing they could be, except for the visitors you got.

Steeled with a new purpose, he made his way to the patient's room. All the while, he tried to figure out what he would say beyond "Hello" and "How are you feeling?". Uncertainty still loomed over him as he reached the open door to the room. He opted to peek in the door rather than knock first and saw a woman curled up on her side with her back to him.

For a moment it looked like she was asleep and a sense of disappointment filled him. As he turned to leave, the woman lifted her head and punched her pillow hard. Bronowski, seeing the woman take out her frustration on the pillow, smiled, but grew nervous as he entered the room.

_No excuses now Sergeant..._

#### oOoOo

Anya looked like a startled deer caught in the headlights, not recognizing the large imposing man as one of the hospital staff. As she stared at him, out of reflex she compared him to Xander and Olaf. He looked to be not much older than Xander, and while not as big as Olaf, looked more muscular and toned which she found pleasant to look at. His eyes caught her attention as they made him seem older... they reminded her of Buffy.

Bronowski saw the woman studying him after startling her. He became self-conscious of his appearance, which wasn't normal for him, "Um... I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I wanted to check and see how you were doing," he said, trying to brush away any self-doubt.

Anya picked up on some nervousness on the man's part. She'd always had problems reading body language, and as Xander always pointed out, "lacked an inner filter"... whatever that was. This time, she wanted to avoid putting her foot in mouth.

"No, it's okay," she said, sighing and adjusting her pillows to sit up in bed, trying to figure out who her visitor was and what he wanted. Whatever his reasons, it was a break to her boring routine, "I'm just tired of lying around here. It feels like I'm about to go crazy."

The man's laugh caught her by surprise, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate being stuck in Medical too," he said, grinning.

Anya liked how the man laughed and grinned. She still didn't know who or why, but got a weird sense she'd met him before.

Bronowski noted her puzzled expression. He realized he hadn't introduced himself, "Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Sergeant Bronowski, I was down on the planet when we picked up Lieutenant Evans and your group. I wanted to see how you were doing, and I would have stopped by sooner, but I've been busy working," he said, a sheepish expression filling his face.

Anya only had a hazy recollection of the airport, and she'd been unconscious when brought aboard. She only had what Xander, Dawn, Willow and Buffy had told her to fill in the blanks.

Flashbacks of the battle at the airport filled her head as she tried to remember. She remembered pushing Andrew out of the bus and struggling to carry him... then a Turok-Han rushing at her. She realized who the man was, recalling the shouting voice and the punch to the vampire pinning her to the ground.

"It was you! Y-You saved my life and killed that vampire?"

The man became self-conscious and uncomfortable with his surroundings, which surprised Anya.

"I-I was in the right place at the right time. I couldn't let that thing hurt you," Bronowski said, glancing around the room. He couldn't believe his nervousness as he composed himself, "You're the brave one for carrying that injured person, then pushing them aside when you got attacked. It took guts... real guts to stand up to a creature like that with no weapons."

Anya blinked in surprise at getting praise for performing a brave act. As she stared at Sergeant Bronowski, a strange nervous sensation hit her stomach. She tried something risky and out of character for her, "Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me. I should have thrown Andrew at the Turok-Han instead."

Anya blinked again, _He laughed at my joke! Xander never laughed at my attempts at humor!_

The joke caught Bronowski by surprise. He'd been so caught up being awkward and self-conscious he didn't expect the joke. He burst out laughing as the serious look on her face only added to her delivery. As he calmed down, he realized he didn't even know her name.

The awkwardness returned as he fumbled to ask her name, hoping he didn't put his foot in his mouth, "I-I didn't get your name?"

Anya read the Sergeant's nervousness. She remembered how nervous Xander got when they dated.

_It must be something specific to the male species and mating rituals..._

"My name is Anya..."

Awkward silence filled the room as they stared at each other. Bronowski continued savoring Anya's name when she asked him a question.

"If you don't mind me asking, Sergeant is a strange first name?"

Bronowski blinked as her question sank in. Anya thought she'd put her foot in her mouth as the man stared at her with a blank look. That changed as an enormous smile filled his face and he laughed again.

This male's behavior was confusing Anya, "What's wrong?"

Bronowski struggled to get under control, "N-Nothing... Nothing. It's just after being called or referred to as Sergeant Bronowski for so long, sometimes I forget I still have a first name," he said, still smiling.

Anya liked the way the Sergeant laughed. His smile lit up his face, pushing back the hardness from his eyes, "So, what's your name or is it some military secret?" she said, returning the smile.

Bronowksi decided he liked Anya's smile a lot, "No, it's no big secret. My first name is Lionel."

Another moment of silence descended as they both became self-conscious and awkward.

"I-I guess I should get going. Maybe I can stop by again?" Lionel said, experiencing both a sense of awkwardness and hope.

A sense of sadness struck Anya, surprising her. This had been her best day and best visit by far, and she didn't want it to end. She enjoyed being around Lionel... he was pleasant to look at with the bonus of laughing at her jokes. Her smile faded as she realized she didn't want him to leave.

Lionel saw Anya's smile fade, and it struck him hard not to see her smile. He didn't want to leave either. A plan quickly formed in his mind.

_Those who dare win..._

A mischievous grin filled Lionel's face, causing Anya a little confusion, "What?"

The grin grew bigger, "How would you like if I broke you out of here? I could take you around the ship. You know, show you around," he said.

Anya mirrored his grin, nodding her head excitedly.

#### oOoOo

For Faith, the last few days seemed like a vacation as she took advantage of having a spacious room to herself to catch up on some rest and kick back.

She basked in having her own private bathroom with a shower that seemed to have an endless supply of hot water. The food wasn't bad either and there seemed to be lots available. Compared to her previous situations, this wasn't even close, yet a part of her still wondered when the bill would come for all this stuff. She'd learnt through bitter experience that everything had a price and, _"nothing in life is free"_.

Boredom was now setting in as she got antsy and restless. She'd briefly entertained herself by going through the clothes the crew had donated for the group to use. Faith couldn't believe Cassie had been telling the truth about the clothing styles and how tight and form-fitting they were. She found it funny how many of the Potentials and—to Buffy's horror—Dawn took to the new clothing styles available.

She wasn't a prude in any sense, but decided against the stripper-wear for now, staying with her own clothes. Yet, that didn't stop her from raising more than a few eyebrows, strolling down the corridor, wearing only a towel, for some late night skinny-dipping in the pool.

All this high living—for her—was great, but was taking its toll. Along with the boredom, she noticed her pants getting a little more snug than usual.

_Time for a little workout before I get too out of shape,_ she thought, heading out to find something to ease her growing boredom.

#### oOoOo

Faith barely noticed the looks she drew from the crew in the corridors. Her focus was on trying not to screw up the directions the soldier had given her.

She'd gone to the gym in their area, but the workout equipment there couldn't give her the physical workout she wanted. After explaining to the soldier standing on guard what she was looking for, he'd been most helpful. She'd picked up on his definition of a "physical workout" from the way he was checking her out.

_Men... whether they're from here or another universe, they're all the same,_ she thought, brushing off his attempted come on. She wasn't interested in that type of physical activity... at least right now.

The soldier, taking the hint she wasn't interested, told her there was a larger gymnasium on Deck-Two with more equipment. With everyone having the day off, she would have to wait around for an escort to show up to take her. She was in no mood to wait around as her restlessness and impatience urged her to take matters into her own hands.

All it took was some suggestive smiling, stretching in front of the soldier along with some arm touching and batting her eyes to get her way. She convinced him she would just go straight to the gym and come back. The soldier hesitated, but folded to her charms, telling her to stick to the directions to avoid any trouble.

Using exercise equipment still didn't fit with what she wanted, but escaping to explore the ship by herself was too tantalizing to say no to. Now, she was sure she'd followed the directions and was on Deck-Two, but she was having a hard time getting her bearings. She caught a break, spotting a pair of female crewmen, dressed in what looked like workout attire.

Taking it as a sign, she followed them. Her hunch paid off as they encountered more people heading in the same direction with everyone heading for a large set of doors. Even not sure of where she was heading, she didn't hesitate, going through the doors. She paused just inside the doors to take in the room.

"Now, this is what I'm talking about," she muttered, a smile coming to her face.

#### oOoOo

The Sergeant kept his word and sprung Anya from the hospital and was giving her a personal tour of the ship. It was exciting and overwhelming to see everything on the spaceship, especially when Lionel had taken her up to the observation deck.

Seeing the moon up close with the Earth peeking from around the side stunned her speechless. As they continued the tour, Anya found she was enjoying the walk more from being with Lionel than from what he was showing her.

Lionel talked about several more stops on their tour, then mentioned about going for a coffee and a snack before going back to Medical. At the mention of "Medical", Anya dreaded being trapped back in there for several more days. Lionel must have read the dread on her face, mentioning he would have a chat with the medical staff to see about getting her released sooner.

Anya discovered she wanted to know more about this man. She filled the gaps of awkward silence in their walk, asking questions about him and his world.

As she peppered him with questions, she found herself torn about how to answer the questions he asked about her. She realized Lionel had no knowledge or exposure to Sunnydale and the world of demons and vampires. She didn't want to scare the Sergeant off, telling him she'd been a vengeance demon and alive for over a thousand years. That was one reason she'd loved Xander so much... he knew about and accepted her past.

For now, she danced around some details of her life. She babbled about being a small business owner and her love for capitalism along with her mortal fear of rabbits. Xander only half-listened to her when she babbled like this, so it both surprised and confused her to see Lionel paying close attention to everything she was saying.

Lionel noticed Anya staring at him, "What's wrong?"

"You... is there something wrong with you?"

He eyed her strangely, wondering what he'd done wrong, "What're you talking about?"

Anya sighed, disappointed that something may be wrong with Lionel, "It's just that you're listening and paying attention. You're not making comments, telling me I'm saying the wrong thing or I shouldn't speak my mind. Someone would have told me to stop talking by now."

Lionel was familiar with confusion on the battlefield, but he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around this. He went with the flow, "What's wrong with speaking your mind? I'm a Sergeant, it's a job requirement, I speak my mind. I kinda like you speak your mind. There's less confusion," he said, shrugging as a grin etched his face.

Anya liked the way Lionel smiled, "Okay," she said, deciding to act on an urge building since they'd started this walk. She moved close to him, catching him by surprise as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in and kissing him on the mouth.

Lionel froze for a moment before he pulled away, "W-What's that for?" he stammered.

Anya read his face and a sense of confusion and disappointment grew, "Don't you want to kiss me? Did I do something wrong?"

Confusion gripped Lionel, shaking off his shock, trying to regain his composure as he noted the disappointment registering on Anya's face. The truth was he'd been thinking about kissing her since she'd first smiled at him, "No-No, I want to kiss you! It's just that you caught me by surprise! Why did you kiss me?"

Anya shrugged, "You said you like that I speak my mind because there's less confusion. I like you and wanted to kiss you. Don't you want less confusion?"

Lionel laughed, "Yes, ma'am! I would very much like less confusion!" he said, a huge smile on his face as he stepped in, taking Anya in his arms and kissing her.

#### oOoOo

Anya and Lionel both wore smiles as they held hands walking down the corridor. Her head was spinning from how fast things were going. She found his kissing technique different from Xander's, but still enjoyable. While she enjoyed being with him, a voice in her head kept nagging her about telling Lionel about those other parts of her life.

She pushed those thoughts down for now, focusing on being with him. Lionel was already talking about a "second date" and her thoughts drifted to what activities they could do on this second date.

During her time with Xander, they had done quite a bit of experimentation with different sexual activity. She was thinking of asking Lionel about his thoughts on some activities she'd enjoyed the most and started putting a list together of what she liked.

"What the hell?" Lionel said, interrupting her mental list making.

"What's wrong?" she said, wondering if she'd done something wrong.

Lionel shook his head, "There's something going on in the gym."

Anya noted the crowd gathering down the corridor. A lineup of people was waiting to go in through a large set of doors. As they got closer, she picked up yelling and cheering coming through the doors.

Lionel also caught what sounded like a large crowd inside the gym yelling and cheering. The huge line and what was happening in the gym piqued his curiosity. As they got closer, he noticed one of his troopers standing in the line, craning his neck, waiting for his chance to get inside.

Lionel switched into Sergeant mode, "Sanders! What the hell is going on?"

Out of reflex, the trooper jumped to attention, "Sergeant...! Thank god, you're here!"

Confusion now added to his curiosity as he wondered what Sanders was going on about, "What's wrong?"

"We need you in there, Sergeant! From what I hear, she's kicking everyone's ass! You need to get in there!"

By this time the crowd in line noticed Lionel. Before he could ask any more questions, the crowd parted for Sanders to grab the Sergeant and drag him into the gym. Anya was still holding Lionel's hand and got caught up, getting dragged into the gym with them.

At first, Lionel thought there had been an accident or attack, but that didn't explain all the cheering. He felt torn, but let Sanders keep dragging him because he wanted to know what was going on.

Other crew members noticed Lionel's arrival and chanted his name, adding to the wild cheering already filling the gym. He gripped Anya's hand tighter to not lose her in the crowd, glancing back at her to make sure she was okay.

Lionel and Anya were both overwhelmed by the crowd filling gym and the wild atmosphere hanging over it. When they broke through the front of the crowd did they find out what was generating all the excitement. At that moment, two people were engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the middle of the gym.

Lionel recognized the brunette as the woman who Captain Coleiro had brought in on his Cyclone during the rescue. He was shocking to see her tangling with one of his troopers on the mats. Wild shouting and cheering filled the gymnasium as the two opponents circled each other. A moment of fear filled Lionel, knowing the woman was tangling with one of the tougher and rougher soldiers in his unit.

He was about to step in to stop the fight when the brunette pounced on the larger man, getting a grip on him and tossing him across the mat. The soldier landed with a heavy thud and before he could recover the brunette was on him in a flash, the smaller woman pinning her larger opponent to the mat. A crewman, acting as referee, stepped in and slapped his hand to the mat for the five-count, declaring the woman as the winner.

With that, the match was over. The crowd went nuts with a mix of cheers and boos as the brunette stood up. The woman stood in the middle of the mat, taking in the crowd with a big smirk plastered on her face. To Lionel, it looked like she'd hardly broken a sweat in the fight while her opponent got up slowly with the help of two crewman.

"Faith..."

Lionel heard Anya mutter the name and turned to see her shaking her head and rolling her eyes. He was about to ask Anya who this "Faith" was, when the brunette addressed the crowd.

"Alright, boys and girls... who's next?"

#### oOoOo

Faith was in her element...

When she entered the gym, she'd seen the exercise equipment, but what caught her attention were the workout mats at the center of the gym. She watched as a group of people worked out, going through what she recognized as martial arts training.

A smile filled her face as she made her way towards the training mats. She stood off to the side as the instructor led her class through moves. Her heart beating in anticipation, recognizing the Taekwondo moves the instructor showed.

It didn't take long for the instructor to notice Faith and ask if she wanted to join in the training and sparring. She accepted the invitation and joined the group. In typical Faith fashion, it didn't take long for things to turn sideways and get out of hand...

It started when one trainee got a little handsy and decided on making a play for her. Faith recognized his type, brushing off and ignoring his clumsy come on attempts. Unfortunately, the guy didn't take the hint as his flirting attempts escalated to annoying levels.

Faith was trying to stay on good behavior, so tried to resolve the situation first by using her words rather than her fists. When she asked him to stop, he responded by asking, "What would it take for you to go out with me?"

Faith shook her head, knowing where this was heading. If the situation was going to end badly, she would have some fun with it. She could at least tell Buffy she tried to play nice this time.

"You'll have to pin me," she said, smirking as the guy made some lewd comments to his friends about pinning her now, and then again after dinner.

The fight ended in seconds, to the shock of everyone in the gym, with the guy requiring help to get off the mat afterwards. Faith thought the matter was over, but the guy's friends had other ideas. They wanted a chance to get even over what they considered was a lucky freak occurrence.

After putting a couple more guys down, Faith got bored, but noticed she was drawing a growing crowd to watch her take down soldiers. That's when an idea struck.

"Why don't we make this more interesting? How about we put some money on these matches and I'll take on all comers?" she said with a gleam in her eye.

It didn't take long for challengers to step up and bets placed. Word quickly spread from the gym, attracting people from around the ship who were enjoying their day off.

#### oOoOo

Faith glanced at her small pile of accumulated winnings from her matches on the edge of mat. When she first came up with this idea, she hoped on earning good old US Dollars, gold or something else of value. She hadn't expected the crew to use what looked like credit cards for the betting. At first she'd been skeptical, but her opinion changed when told these were electronic currency cards loaded with credits to purchase items from the ship's exchange store.

In her early matches, she was getting good odds and a good return. By the ninth opponent, the odds were lowering against her. The tide had switched to more bets being placed on her rather than against her.

_Looks like this well will run dry soon... Maybe I've won enough to buy me one of those cool rides or someone will put up their pink slip..._

The crowd roared as she waited for her next opponent. She smirked, catching sight of an imposing man appearing as if he was being dragged through the crowd.

Anya's appearance caught her by surprise. It was even more surprising to see Anya holding hands with him. Faith took a moment to study this man a little closer, nodding in appreciation at Anya's good taste. The soldier pulling them forward spoke.

"I've got your next opponent! Sergeant Bronowski is the best on the ship and also fleet champion!"

Lionel tried to get a grasp on the rapidly unfolding events. All he wanted was to spend time with Anya. Now, he stood on the edge of a training mat being pushed into a fight. Even though he'd seen her take down one of his soldiers, he found it hard to believe she was kicking everyone's ass in hand-to-hand combat.

He met the brunette' eyes to stare down and intimidate her, but the look she gave back caused him to blink. He noted how his opponent smirked as the crowd's chanting and cheering got louder.

An unexpected sense of uncertainty and doubt flared inside him. The idea of turning down the match danced briefly in his head, but the crowd chanting his name exerted its pressure.

Now locked on this course, Lionel let out a sigh, turning to Anya, "I'm sorry. I have to do this. Everyone is counting on me."

Anya heard the crowd shouting Lionel's name, noting his determined expression. She shook her head as the crowd went wild as he took off his boots and jacket to prepare for the match. A sigh escaped her as she approached Faith, meeting her eyes with a determined look.

"Don't hurt or break him... I like him," Anya said, glaring at Faith.

Faith tried not to laugh as Anya's tone caught her by surprise. She smirked, giving Anya a nod.

Anya turned to join the crowd, stopping by Lionel. He heard what she said and was glad to hear she liked him, but her choice of words perplexed and confused him.

"What's that all about?" he said.

Anya shook her head slowly, "I'll be waiting over there for you when you lose, so I can help with the first-aid and consoling you."

Lionel blinked, not believing what she'd said. He was a little disappointed by her words and lack of support, but then his eyes glanced at the substantial pile of winnings Faith had accumulated.

Images of how she'd tossed that soldier flashed in his head and the creeping sense of uncertainty and doubts returned. He tried to clear the images and doubts from his head as the referee signaled them to move to the center of the mat to start the match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	20. Don't poke the bear

## CHAPTER TWENTY  
Don't poke the bear

_"The patient displayed astonishing reflexes during the physical fitness tests. He also showed a remarkable IQ aptitude with a rating above 'superior intelligence'. When I tried to examine the patient, he got defensive with outbursts of aggressive behavior and anger when I asked him about his time living on the streets. I believe the patient is suffering from PTSD from the attack on New Macross that killed his family and his time living on the streets. My recommendation is for the patient to undergo psychotherapy to help deal with his aggression and anger management issues..."_

— Excerpt from medical report by Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Jacobs (Monument City, 2018)

#### oOoOo

Coleiro used his day-off to check in on his guests. The work of overseeing ship repairs hadn't left him much time to follow up on his first meeting with them.

With everyone taking the day-off, he figured it would be a good time to visit and follow up. Lieutenants Evans and Hanson were accompanying him for the visit, using the walk to update the Captain on the ship's current status.

"Lieutenant Evans, what's the training status of our replacement pilots?"

"Sir, with the compressed training plan, we're already in the simulators performing basic flight operations and maneuvers. We should be able to start simulator combat training in about two weeks."

Coleiro grimaced as he'd been hoping to start the combat simulator training sooner, but he realized they had already cut corners to have gotten this far. He didn't want to put his people's lives at any more risk than was necessary.

"Lieutenant, I want your honest opinion. How long do you figure before we can put our students into actual planes?"

Cassie weighed the question. Ever since Captain Coleiro tasked her to oversee the replacement pilot training program, her emotions had run from excited to terrified.

She figured she was in charge only because of the fact of her being the only other surviving fighter pilot on the ship, and the Captain couldn't do everything.

Yet, when he assigned her this role, he told her she had his full confidence in getting the job done. He explained since she wasn't long out of the academy and flight school, she would still be familiar with all the training protocols and procedures. He told her he didn't want the new pilots learning any of his bad habits.

It was an opportunity she couldn't turn down as she threw herself into the job. The drawback to this new role, combined with her other shipboard work and duties, was the lack of spare time to spend with Xander. He supported her, but she read the disappointment in his face whenever they shared those all too brief moments together.

"I've been giving it some thought, sir. Standard training procedures are to complete simulator training first and then move on to actual flight operations. We might split the training day into combat simulations in the morning and have them do actual flight training in the afternoons. It will increase the workload and pressure on the students."

Coleiro nodded, "Excellent idea, Evans! Get them used to real flying sooner. Just keep an eye on them and make sure they're keeping up. I know I'm asking a lot of all of you, but I also want to make sure everyone stays safe. If you think things are going too fast or there's too much pressure, you slow down and take the time you need. It's your call, Lieutenant, you're the one in charge. Understood?"

Cassie tried not to stare like a deer in the headlights as the reality of the pressure and responsibility she carried now hit her. She tried to sound confident as she nodded, "Yes, sir!"

"Lieutenant Hanson."

"Sir?"

"Status of ship repairs?"

"On schedule, sir. We've restored Communications. Sensors are coming back on-line... short range sensors are up, but will take a few more days for the long-range systems. Weapon and defensive systems are available. We've sealed or contained all hull breaches. Engineering is reporting they want to do more testing on the space-fold system, but we have engines on-line and full maneuverability. We've also finished recovering all the Shadow drone fighters. Chief Larson reports she is starting repairs on the recovered craft. She's short-handed, so her estimated repair schedule may be off."

Coleiro took a moment to consider his task list, "Let Chief Larson know Lieutenant Evans and myself will be down later to assist her on the drone repairs. Other than that, everything sounds like it's all in hand. Spread the word to all sections Lieutenant, let them know they've done a good job and have earned this time off."

Cassie had been looking to using her day-off to spend time with Xander. She hid her disappointment as Hanson nodded at the Captain's compliment, "Yes, sir!"

The Captain was about to ask if Engineering had any updates or progress on getting back to their dimension. A loud commotion working its way down the corridor interrupted them as the officers jumped to avoid being run over by a group of women running down the corridor.

Engrossed in talking amongst themselves, the young women stampeded past, not seeing the officers. The Captain was about to order them to stop and come to attention when he recognized the women from the group rescued from the planet. One of the young women finally noticed the officers and waved at them.

"Hi Cassie! Hi Captain!"

A pain flared in Coleiro's head, building in unison with his increasing blood pressure as his gaze settled on Lieutenant Evans. A sheepish expression etched Cassie's face as she meekly waved back at Dawn as the group of women rushed down the corridor, leaving the officers in their wake.

"What the hell?"

Hanson jumped in, reading the Captain's expression, "I'll find out what's going, sir!" he said, racing off to catch up with the group of women.

Hanson wanted to resolve whatever was going on... and quickly. Ever since the Captain returned from the rescue mission, he'd been on a slow burn, despite his best attempts to hide it. The mission had been a complete success, yet something had happened to the Captain during the mission to make him surly.

Other than by reputation, he didn't know much about the Captain. In his role as First Officer, it was important for him to read his Captain's moods and help deal with any problems. He was even considering approaching Chief Larson to get her insights and advice on the Captain's current mood, but it concerned him how the Captain would react to this.

Coleiro took a deep breath, waiting for Hanson's return as Evans stood nervously off to the side, trying to make herself invisible. He wondered why his guests were running around his ship without escorts as he compiled a list of who he would need to chew out over this security protocol breach. Hanson returned a few minutes later, and Coleiro read by the Lieutenant's anxious nervous expression he wouldn't like the answer.

Coleiro took another deep breath, "Well, what is it, Lieutenant?"

Hanson hesitated, "Uh, sir... It seems that... well, I... um..."

A wave of anger rose in the Captain, but he kept it in check. He realized he'd been getting moodier and angrier with each passing day since being planet-side. He exerted his self-control to not vent his foul mood on the young Lieutenant. It wasn't Hanson's fault for what happened, he was just delivering the news.

"Spit it out, Lieutenant," Coleiro said, in a calm sounding voice.

The Captain's attempts at soothing Hanson failed as the calm voice didn't reflect his expression and only made him seem scarier. Hanson gulped, "Sir, there appears to be some sort of... um... competition taking place in the gymnasium on Deck-Two."

Coleiro closed his eyes and counted to ten.

Hanson continued, "W-Whatever is going on has attracted a large crowd."

Coleiro kept on counting to twenty before he opened his eyes. His voice took on an eerily calm tone as he looked over at Hanson and Evans, "Well, Lieutenant... Lieutenants. I guess we should take a little stroll up to Deck-Two and take a little peek in on this 'sort of competition'. Don't you agree?"

#### oOoOo

For only a "friendly" match, Lionel was in the fight of his life. He'd somehow avoided getting pinned, which now made him the longest lasting of Faith's opponents.

It hadn't been without a price as his shoulder ached from being tossed across the mat. That had been his mistake when he tried to use his strength to take her down and end the match fast. He recognized she had skill from the number of opponents she'd defeated, but he'd underestimated her strength and speed.

He'd grown up hearing stories about Max Sterling and the things he did with a Veritech. Lionel only assumed they were stories and nobody was that fast. That is until he had an opportunity to train with Captain Coleiro, once years ago, getting a glimpse of such speed.

Now, he was on the receiving end of speed and strength. He was still trying to overcome his shock with how easily she'd broken his hold and tossed him. His new plan was now to stay out of her reach, using his longer reach as an advantage and wait until she made a mistake... if she made one.

As the match continued on, a sinking sensation grew that this plan would fail too. Faith's speed and reflexes seemed to negate any advantage his reach gave him. If that wasn't bad enough, he caught glimpses of Anya on the sidelines, shaking her head and giving him a grim expression.

_So much for moral support,_ Lionel reflected, trying to keep his focus on his opponent and the match. It was hard because a little voice in his head kept telling him he was going to lose.

#### oOoOo

The Captain, with Lieutenants Evans and Hanson in tow, approached the gymnasium on Deck-Two. Even before they even came in sight of the entrance, they caught the cheering and yelling echoing down the corridor.

_Sounds like quite the event going on..._

Coleiro tried to keep an open mind as they approached the gym. He realized the crew needed to blow off steam. They had all lost friends and shipmates and they needed to decompress, but only to a point.

His duty and responsibility was to the ship and crew, and to keep things from getting out of hand. He knew from bitter personal experience how something little could get easily out of hand. As they rounded the corner, seeing the crowd lined up, Coleiro realized this was no minor event. He recognized the distinct signs—again from personal experience—of gambling taking place which regulations specifically forbid.

A voice in his head was telling him to turn around and let the crew have their fun, but he understood that discipline was a finely balanced thing. If he let this slide without saying a word, then what would he let slide next?

With the ship and crew cut off from home, possibly stranded in this universe for the rest of their lives, discipline became even more important. If he allowed things to get too lax, things could fall apart, and the crew could become divided, forming groups or factions.

The Arcadia may be only one ship, but she carried a tremendous amount of firepower. All it would take is some ambitious individual or group to look at all the weapons aboard the ship and the technologically inferior planet out there. That path led to a dark place...

Coleiro suppressed a shudder as memories of T.R. Edwards and the REF Civil War rushed back. It was a dark time for the REF with Edwards attempting a coup to seize control as a stepping stone to setting himself up as the next Robotech Master.

Edwards had been a master manipulator, knowing how to push people's buttons. He'd tempted Coleiro to get him to switch his allegiances by appealing to his darker nature. It had been an almost convincing offer, but it was Sonia who pulled him back from the edge, keeping him from making a disastrous... and possibly fatal decision.

He would need to enforce discipline, but he couldn't be too hard. It was all a matter of choosing the right size of hammer to bring down. As he and the Lieutenants got closer, he had to keep from smirking as those crewmen at the back of the line noticed them approaching. Their expressions were priceless as they read the Captain's face and quickly discovered they needed to be somewhere else ASAP.

Those crew in the line were the lucky ones as they dispersed, heading the opposite direction. Those inside the gym were so wrapped up in the ongoing match they didn't notice the Captain and two Lieutenants now standing in the doorway.

Coleiro glimpsed over the crowd to see what was happening on the training mats in the center of the gym. He arched an eyebrow in surprise, seeing the brunette he rescued from the planet taking Sergeant Bronowski to school.

The Sergeant was in trouble as he studied the brunette's fighting style. He noted how she moved in a graceful predatory way, along with her intense focus and awareness of her surroundings. He recalled what Lieutenant Evans had told him about the Slayers… Buffy and Faith. A part of him tried to scoff it off, but meeting Buffy and now seeing Faith made it all real.

For a second, the Captain debated stepping in and ending the match, but that would have been too merciful for the Sergeant. The beginnings of an evil smirk broke on his face as he waited for the match to end... which he figured wouldn't be much longer.

Faith proved Coleiro right as she dropped her shoulder as a fake to draw the Sergeant in. Bronowski took the bait, but as he attacked, he realized his mistake and tried to retreat. It was too late as Faith used her impressive speed and reflexes to close the gap, getting him in a tight hold. Bronowski tried to break free, but couldn't get out of her iron grip.

The crowd gasped as Faith flipped her huge opponent over her. He landed on his back, hitting the mat with a hard thud. Silence descended on the gym as Faith pinned a stunned Bronowski. The referee jumped in, doing his five-count, and with that the match was over. The crowd roared in a mix of cheers and booing as Faith stood up. She wore a huge smirk, looking over the crowd, as the referee lifted her hand, proclaiming her the winner.

#### oOoOo

As Faith stood there, soaking up the crowd and another victory, she spotted Cassie standing towards the back of the crowd. She was next to Lieutenant Hanson and the same man she recognized from the hospital. A bad vibe filled Faith as she noted the grim look on Cassie's face and her head shaking slowly. Added to that was the "not so happy" look the older man wore. Before she could say or do anything, Lieutenant Hanson stepped forward and shouted in a loud crisp voice.

"CAPTAIN ON DECK!"

Compared to the hospital this was even more impressive and intimidating because in an instant everyone in the gym went from cheering and yelling to standing at attention. Faith even saw her defeated opponent stagger to his feet and stand—somewhat woozily—at attention too. An eerie silence descended on the gym and Faith swore she heard the sweat running down everyone's back as the Captain made his way towards the mat.

She studied the Captain as he stood at the edge of the mat, facing the crowd. Anticipation filled the air as the Captain eyed the crowd. He spoke in a quiet voice, but in the now eerie silence of the gym it was loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it looks like you've been enjoying your day-off, but you all know the regulations regarding gambling."

It was something in his tone that triggered Faith, before considering the ramifications she spoke up, "Awww, come on... we're just having fun. Don't be such a Captain Bligh. Nothing wrong with having a little fun," she said, grinning.

A gasp escaped the crowd as Coleiro turned to face Faith. Her outburst caught him off-guard, poking him in the wrong way. He took a moment to check his growing anger, understanding she wasn't military, "I don't mind people having fun, but we have rules and regulations in place. Even though you didn't know, they know better."

The Captain's attitude was getting on Faith's nerves. She'd always had "issues" with authority and authority figures and was working on improving that. She kept her mouth shut, struggling not to say something she would regret. That changed with the Captain's next statement.

"All bets are void with all credits returned to their owners."

Restraint flew out the window and she reacted out of instinct and reflex as old habits kicked in, "No..."

She hadn't yelled, but in the silence her defiance reverberated through the gym. The stunned crowd watched as the Captain stepped towards Faith.

"What did you say?" he said, not quite believing what she'd said.

Faith shook her head, "You heard me... I said no! I won that money and you can't take it away from me!"

Coleiro paused in the face of her refusal to comply. He took a deep breath to maintain his composure as his mood and anger bubbled towards the surface, "We have rules and regulations regarding gambling. You are a guest on this ship, I expect you to abide by these rules."

Faith saw she was getting under the Captain's skin and he was struggling to keep his composure. A normal person would have known to have not pushed the situation, but Faith was far from being normal. She wouldn't back down and give up what she'd earned.

"I didn't ask to be a guest here! What I do is my business and I'm keeping what I won!" she replied, digging in her heels.

Coleiro, reading the defiant look on her face, realized his crew was watching to see how this scene would play out. He fought to keep his voice calm and even, "I would think you would be more appreciative considering we rescued you and your friends."

Faith didn't even consider backing down, "Yeah, thanks for that, but it still doesn't excuse you for being an arrogant prick!" she said, smirking.

A collective gasp filled the gym as her words sank in. Again, stunned silence descended as the two of them stared at each other with neither giving ground.

Coleiro closed his eyes, counting to ten before opening them and responding, "I'll give you a chance to walk away or—"

Faith didn't give him a chance to finish, "Or what? It's easy thinking you're hot shit when you've got fancy toys like your motorcycles, jets and fancy guns. Why don't you take the stick out of your ass and stop being a dick and walk away yourself?"

Another gasp filled the gym, and Coleiro glimpsed Lieutenant Hanson moving to join him. He held up his hand, stopping the Lieutenant in his tracks.

The Captain had several options available to handle this situation. The normal and most prudent course of action would be to call Security and have Faith cool her heels in the brig, but he wasn't in a normal mood. Normal rational thought took a back seat as she became a focal point for all his pent up anger.

He eyed her pile of winnings, "You think you're that good?"

Faith smirked, her heart pounding, anticipating what would happen next, "Yeah, I'm that good. I haven't met anyone yet on this tub that can keep up with me," she sneered.

Before the crowd realized what was happening, Coleiro took off his uniform jacket. The crowd buzzed in disbelief as he took off his boots. Despite the Captain's restrictions, bets were being made as everyone watched their Captain and Faith step into the middle of the mat, facing off against each other.

Coleiro looked down on her, meeting her eyes without blinking or backing down, "I win, you give back all your winnings."

Faith met his stare, not giving an inch of ground, "Fine, when I win I get one of those fancy motorcycles."

His smirk caught her off-guard as they separated, moving to their respective sides of the mat as the crowd cheered wildly in anticipation. Faith studied her opponent as she took deep breaths to relax herself. She noted that he wasn't as big or muscle-bound as her last few opponents, but her instincts flashed warning messages not to underestimate him.

The stunned referee looked at both fighters, getting a nod from each they were ready. He took a deep breath and signaled for the match to start.

As the match started, one of the crew, sensing they were about to witness something epic, activated the gymnasium's video system to broadcast the match throughout the ship.

#### oOoOo

As Buffy entered the cafeteria, she caught Giles waving to her. Xander and Willow were digging into their food as she joined them at the table.

"The food that good?" Buffy said, smiling as she caught Xander shoveling a huge spoonful of food into his mouth.

Swallowing the food, Xander gave her a sheepish grin, "Yeah, this food is the best!" he said, trying not to spit food over the others.

Buffy shook her head, turning to Willow, noting her friend looked more tired than rested, "I haven't seen much of you these last few days, Will?"

A tired smile lit up Willow's face, "It's amazing! The level of technology and the science behind it... it's... it's... just out of this world! I was in the engine section looking over the space-fold system! It's... it's—"

"Out of this world, I get it," Buffy said, laughing.

"You don't seem to understand the power that's behind their systems. It's almost like magic!" Willow replied.

"I understand they use Protoculture as the fuel for their systems," Giles added. He'd been doing background reading the last few days from material available for them to access.

"That it comes from the pollen of a flower and creates limitless energy, it's incredible!" Willow said, her excitement visible.

Xander added in his opinion between spoonfuls of food, "I find it hard to believe a flower can power spaceships."

"Now Xander, we've seen our fair share of strange things that have contained or conjured to hold immense power. It may sound strange that a mere flower can contain that much power, but then I assume we are talking about an alien plant?" Giles said.

Willow nodded, recalling everything she'd learned these last few days, "Yeah, this flower, it's called the Flower of Life and it's from the Invid homeworld. Everyone in their galaxy is trying to control it. It's the major reason for all the wars."

Giles nodded, "Yes, it seems the quest for power and control is not local to our world or dimension," he said, sighing.

Buffy switched topics, "Have you guys seen Dawn? I stopped by her room and she wasn't there."

The others shook their heads, "Sorry, Buff. I haven't seen her since breakfast," Xander replied, taking another spoonful of food.

A worried frown filled Buffy's face, "I'm worried about her," she said.

"Worried about the Captain finding out she is a key that can unlock dimensions or her current choice in clothing styles?" Willow said.

"Both..." Buffy replied, shaking her head and getting smiles from the others.

"I see nothing wrong with the clothing our gracious hosts have provided us," Xander said, getting a twinkle in his eye.

"This is my sister we're talking about," Buffy replied, giving Xander the evil eye.

Xander gulped under her glare as he realized he'd just lumped Buffy's baby sister into his lecherous thoughts.

"I like the look," Willow blurted out, catching everyone by surprise. Buffy gave her the same glare, and she tried to backtrack, "Uhhh... W-What I meant to say is that I like Kennedy in those outfits. She... Uhhh... W-We... ummm..." Willow trailed off, blushing under the strange looks and raised eyebrows she was getting.

Xander smiled, storing away the visual image, "Uh, back to the topic at hand. No, we haven't seen the Dawnster. Actually, it's been quiet today. Mealtimes are usually busy with the crew coming in to hang around and check us out."

"Yes, this meal has been pleasantly quiet for a change," Giles added, basking in the peace and quiet with no threats hanging over them.

Xander added, "Yeah, especially with Spike staying in his—" stopping as the vampire rushed into the cafeteria.

"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have said his name," Xander muttered, getting sympathetic looks from Giles and Willow as Spike made his way over to the table, excited about something.

"What's wrong, Spike?" Buffy said.

A huge smile plastered Spike's face, "You're not going to bloody believe it!" he said.

"Nobody cares, Spike," Xander said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

Spike gave Xander a glare, then turned towards the kitchen, "Oi! Mate! Can you give us a hand and turn on that fancy video display?" he shouted.

He waved excitedly for the crewman coming out of the kitchen to turn on the huge flat screen monitor mounted in the cafeteria's corner, "Come on, mate! Hurry it up!" he muttered.

Spike's excitement confused Buffy. She saw her confusion mirrored on her friends' faces, "What's going on, Spike?"

"I was in my room, flipping through their fancy telly, trying to entertain myself."

"No one cares about your stupid soap operas," Xander said, shaking his head.

Spike gave Xander another hard glare, "As I was saying, I was flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch when I found this juicy bit of entertainment."

Just as Spike finished, the screen powered on. Everyone's eyes widen in shock with their mouths hanging open in disbelief, watching the unfolding scene on the screen.

"Oh dear..." Giles muttered. The others, speechless, with their eyes locked on the screen now, watched Captain Coleiro and Faith facing off against each other.

A huge smile filled Spike's face, "Yeah, who would have thought the bloody ponce would have it in him? Though, I think I'll put my money on the Slayer."

#### oOoOo

_What is this guy? Part vampire?_

Faith couldn't believe someone normal could be this fast. She had gone in hard and fast, trying for a quick knockout blow. The Captain's unexpected dodge-spin threw her off-balance. He further surprised her by landing a punch to her side, which she shook off.

As she recovered her balance, she realized she'd underestimated her opponent, and that he was more dangerous than anybody else she'd fought today. As they circled each other, looking for an opening to attack, she observed how he was studying her. Despite the early miss, she still expected to beat him.

Coleiro kept his eyes glued on his opponent's body to not get faked out by her arm movements. He'd been lucky to avoid her first attack. It had been years since he'd sparred or competed, but it was all coming back. He knew he would have to draw on everything he'd ever learned about fighting if he would have a chance. He usually used an aggressive fighting style, attacking and taking the battle to his opponent, but Faith wasn't a normal opponent.

For now, his plan was to drag out the match, staying out of her reach while landing blows to irritate and frustrate her. He knew if he could push her into a mistake, he could take advantage.

_If she makes a mistake..._

Faith studied the Captain's movements, circling for position, throwing the occasional punch to keep him off-balance and maybe catch him by surprise. A smirk flashed on her face as she realized what he was trying to do.

_Try to get me to overextend... We'll see who can frustrate who..._

#### oOoOo

The crowd held its collective breath as the two opponents danced and circled, looking for an opportunity to strike. When it happened, it was so fast they almost missed it...

Faith faked to her right and came in from her left. Coleiro almost missed the move, but dodged the blow. Faith still got a loose grip on his arm as he twisted, trying to break free, getting enough of a grip to throw him across the mat.

Coleiro hit the mat hard and Faith pounced to make the pin. The match should have ended, but again the Captain's reflexes surprised her as he recovered and rolled out of the way and back on his feet. If that wasn't bad enough, he caught her with another blow in the side... this time she felt it, letting out a gasp.

"Not so bad for an old man..." Faith muttered, grudgingly admitting he knew how to fight, recognizing at least three different martial arts in his moves.

"I'm full of surprises," Coleiro replied, catching his breath. Despite this bravado, his aching left shoulder was a reminder of the seriousness of his opponent.

_Landing on it didn't help either,_ he thought, moving around his arm and shoulder to gauge the damage.

Faith smirked seeing she'd caused the Captain some discomfort, "I'm so looking forward to kicking your ass."

#### oOoOo

Throughout the match, Coleiro struggled to keep his anger in check. His blood and soul screamed for him to attack. It wasn't his nature to be this cautious in a fight. His thoughts drifted back to the first time he met Sonia... it was in the academy during self-defense training.

He was still raw, just off the streets of Brasilia, having survived so much crap he didn't think there was anyone that could take him. He thought he knew everything because he'd learned how to survive on the mean streets, taking down bigger opponents. Sonia had shown him that day he had so much more to learn.

Her voice echoed in his head, _Patience... Be patient... Wait for your opportunity..._

Memories of Sonia came roaring back... her broken bloody body in his arms as she died. The memory mixing with the image of the thing The First Evil used against him...

It almost cost him the match as he barely avoided a blow aimed at his mid-section when Faith picked up on his momentary distraction and attacked.

His concentration was a mess as old memories leaked through his wall, mixing and making it harder to control his anger. It was like he was watching himself outside his body as he moved and reacted.

He recognized this sensation, struggling to keep his emotions in control as old feelings and memories pushed him to give into the anger and hate... to lash out and destroy. It was the dark shadow forever circling and haunting him... how much he loved the fighting and killing.

Edwards had recognized the darkness inside him and tried using it to get him to join his coup. Coleiro didn't have desires for money or power... Edwards offered him the chance to kill all the Zentraedi in revenge for his family.

#### oOoOo

Faith saw a change in the Captain's face and eyes and thought she had him now. She lunged in and he easily side-stepped her attack. Her frustration was growing over how long it was taking to put him down. Even though she'd gotten in some good shots, he was still standing.

_He's got guts, but he knows he can't win..._

She read the frustration on his face and could see he was having problems with his composure. A smirk grew across her face, deciding to poke him again to get him to make a mistake.

"I'm gonna send you home cryin' for your momma!" she said, laughing at him.

The words hit Coleiro like a hammer as they registered. Something snapped and all the anger and hate he'd been repressing came roaring out in a tidal wave of rage. His internal walls crumbled, and he was no longer in the gym...

He was back in New Macross, screams filling his ears as the fireball incinerated his mom and sister. Every detail was as clear as day... even their faces as the flames engulfed them.

There was no control now... no thoughts of mercy. There was only the hate... the wanting to hit back. He only wanted to strike back, to release the pain he carried... to not feel helpless and all alone.

Faith's instincts and reflexes screamed warnings as she picked up the change in the Captain. When she met his eyes, she shuddered as shock filled her. His eyes were black dark voids as if all the life had left them. She swore she was staring into a mirror of her soul as they grabbed her. In that crucial moment, she hesitated...

#### oOoOo

Coleiro's lunge at Faith caught everyone in the gym and those watching via video by surprise. His attack stunned both the crowd and Faith, a flurry of blows catching her off-balance, sending her staggering backwards.

Both fighters were moving so fast the crowd was having a hard time keeping up. Faith tried to recover and regain the initiative, throwing punches, but the Captain blocked them, continuing his attack.

Buffy, still watching in the cafeteria, sensed the change in the fight as the Captain took the fight to Faith. She blinked, not believing how he seemed to be overpowering Faith.

Her instincts screamed something was wrong. She realized she needed to get down to the gym and stop the fight before something bad happened. Before she could standup, Faith was down with the Captain on top, pinning her to the mat.

#### oOoOo

Faith stared up at the ceiling in stunned disbelief, gasping for air. Her focus had been on deflecting and stopping the Captain's punches she lost awareness of her situation. Somehow he'd read it and attacked her with a leg sweep move, sending her to the ground hard.

Before she could recover, the Captain was on her, pinning her to the mat. She hadn't panicked, knowing she could use her strength and leverage to break free.

What she hadn't expected was the Captain shifting position to take away her leverage and push his forearm into her throat. She tried to push him off, but surprise and panic grew when she couldn't budge him off her.

Paralysis gripped the crowd and referee as they watched, stunned by this change in fortunes. They realized something was wrong, but watched helplessly as the fight played out its final act.

Faith stared into his pitch-black eyes, and the realization dawned on her that the Captain wasn't going to stop. As she struggled to breathe, a part of her screamed to keep fighting. Yet, the blackness in his eyes held its grip on her. She discovered there was a part of her wanting to let go.

_What do I have to live for?_

She'd laughed when Buffy told her about Spike saying that all Slayers have a death-wish, but now looking into those dark eyes she grasped the truth. The mix of pain, hate, sorrow, regret and anger harboring in that darkness mirrored what lived inside her and pulled on her soul. As her vision grayed out around the edges, she stopped struggling against the Captain.

_My pain will be over soon,_ she thought, accepting her fate as her lungs burned for air. Her vision blurred as tears formed in her eyes. She hadn't wanted to cry in her last moments, but the epiphany struck her as she realized the tears weren't for her... they were for the Captain.

_He'll still have to live with his pain after I'm gone,_ she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek.

She gasped for air, struggling to talk, "It's okay... It'll be alright..." her voice rasped in a hoarse whisper.

#### oOoOo

His drill instructor's voice echoed in his head, telling him how much pressure he needed to apply to crush someone's throat and asphyxiate them.

The blood pounding in his head drowned out the background noises... there were only the faces of the dead haunting his thoughts. There was no turning back as the killer voice inside him urged him on... to finish the job.

_Only a bit more pressure..._

Her voice was a hoarse whisper, but her words were like a slap in the face, snapping him out of his blood lust. His anger drained away as he noticed the tear rolling down her cheek. His eyes widened in shock as the blood lust faded, and the realization sank in about what he was doing and what he'd almost done to her...

Faith felt the pressure lessen on her throat. As her vision cleared, she stared into the Captain's eyes and no longer saw blackness... only a deep dark brown and a surprising tinge of purple.

She got lost in his eyes again, but for a different reason she couldn't explain. The pained look on his face, as he pulled his arm away from her throat, grabbed her, catching her by surprise.

Coleiro felt as if he had just wakened from a nightmare as he stared at Faith. His emotions were ready to burst to the surface for all to see, and he felt naked. He didn't know what to do or say.

"I-I... I'm sorry," he whispered as he stood up.

He glanced around the gym, reading the looks of shock and disbelief on the crowd's faces.

"I-I'm sorry," he muttered. In the gym's silence, his words carried everywhere. He grabbed his uniform jacket and boots and pushed his way out of the gym, leaving the stunned crowd in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	21. Happy Hour

## CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE  
Happy Hour

_"My patient reported finding the leaves while scrounging through the wreckage of a Zentraedi battlecruiser. He said he was using the leaves to supplement his meager diet for at least the last six months. He still had a small supply of the leaves for me to examine. I have never seen leaves like this before and not being able to recognize what plant they were from concerned me about any potential toxicity and side-effects. I forwarded a sample to a botanist friend of mine. She also could not identify what plant these dried leaves came from..."_

— Excerpt from medical report by Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Jacobs (Monument City, 2018)

#### oOoOo

Still dripping wet, Coleiro walked across his room with a towel wrapped around him. He stopped in front of the observation window and gazed out at the view.

He stared at the blue and white world peeking from around the moon. The memory of his dad taking him to view Earth for the first time from one of the SDF-1's observation areas played in his head. Back then dreams of wonders and opportunities filled his head, despite the Zentraedi trying to kill them all.

Staring at the planet, his memories drifted to another time... alert sirens and alarms echoed through the SDF-1. He'd only been eight-years old, but he understood the fear and worry as his mom said goodbye to his dad, for what seemed like the last time.

Everyone took cover in the shelters while his mom reported to her job at the hospital, but he snuck away to one of the observation areas. What he saw stunned him... Zentraedi warships filled the space around the ship. His dad had said something about an alliance between Earth and some of the Zentraedi, but seeing it was something else.

What struck him the most was the Earth... the planet was hard to see through the swarms of alien warships surrounding it. He couldn't believe there were that many spaceships in existence, yet there they were. Any further thoughts ended as Dolza's armada opened fire on the planet. He watched a planet die that day...

A sigh escaped the Captain. He couldn't appreciate the view now, this wasn't his Earth, and it only reminded him of everything he'd lost and what he'd become. A twinge stabbed his shoulder, a reminder of his stupidity and lack of self-control as he rotated and stretched it.

The shoulder wasn't the only thing hurting... his muscles and joints ached, a testament to the intensity of the match. The long hot shower helped ease the pain, but it wasn't those pains bothering him the most. He knew he shouldn't have won that fight, trying to recall how many fights and battles he had survived that he had no right to.

_I should have died years ago... I should be dead already... Why am I still alive when so many others like Sonia are dead?_

Yes, he won the match against Faith, but almost killed her. He realized he would have killed her because he lost control, letting his darker nature take over. His encounter with The First Evil had torn open all the old wounds, remembering how he used to embrace the anger and hate. It was like a drug to see how far he could push his limits and take it to the edge.

He recalled how Max Sterling once sat him down to tell him he was an excellent pilot, but he was even a better killer. Coleiro had taken it as a compliment. All he wanted was to fly, fight and the other fun 'F'. There were no plans or dreams for tomorrow... there was only today and the moment he lived in. Max surprised him by telling him it wasn't a compliment, but a warning. If he didn't rein it in, he would get himself and probably others killed.

He'd been too young and too much of an arrogant SOB to heed Max's warning. He thought he knew it all, besides what did it matter if he died. The only thing that mattered was to have as much fun as possible before that final punch-out.

Sonia's death changed everything. If he hadn't been on one of his glory seeking death-defying stunts, he would have been there when she needed him the most. It was his mistake... his fault her squadron got wiped out that day. Even though the mission succeeded and the board of inquiry cleared him, it didn't ease or wipe away any of his guilt.

The nightly nightmares of holding her broken body as she looked at him and tried to speak tormented him for years. His relationships with women didn't last long, but Sonia had been different. She understood him, put up with his crap and defended him for years. They went through a continual cycle of hooking up and then breaking up over something—or someone—he did. It was in those last moments as her life drained away, he realized how much he loved her.

He fell apart after her death, blaming his stubborn narcissistic stupidity for not seeing how much she meant and losing out on a chance for happiness.

When off duty, he spiraled out of control descending into heavy drinking and even more—if possible—debauchery. He volunteered for every hazardous mission there was, looking for some redemption by dying in the cockpit, but the fates denied him the Viking funeral he wanted.

He hit rock bottom during one long night of drinking where the barrel of his side-arm ended up in his mouth with his finger stroking the trigger.

If it hadn't been for Chief Larson showing up at his door, and the resulting ass-kicking she gave him, he'd be dead.

It had taken time with Larson slapping sense back into him, but he pulled himself back together. He needed to make things right, but realized his death wouldn't make up for Sonia. It would take something else... going to Max and Admiral Hunter to ask for command of the Grim Reapers.

They were both skeptical at first, but Max saw the different look in his eyes and convinced the Admiral. He hadn't disappointed them since then.

This change hadn't come without a cost. It forced him to stuff his feelings and emotions behind a wall. He realized it wasn't a healthy thing to do, but with the war against the Invid intensifying, he needed to do it for him to remain an effective killer.

Those walls let him continue flying and he became an outstanding combat leader and an effective squadron commander... just like Sonia had told him many times he could be.

He got along with the men and women of his squadron, but there were no more close friendships—other than Chief Larson—and no relationships. There was the loneliness, but it was better than going through that pain again.

Coleiro moved over to his desk and pulled a bottle of scotch and a glass from a drawer. He may have cleaned up his act, but old habits die hard as he watched the liquor pour into the glass. The temptation to get drunk pulled on him, but he had to report for duty soon.

He stared at the liquor in the glass then held the glass out to the Earth as a salute to Sonia and the others before throwing back the drink. The memories washed over him as the warmth of the whiskey spread through his throat and stomach.

He remembered the first time he met Sonia. A tired smile flashed as he recalled Faith's defiant expression, refusing to back down to him. The thought surprised him as he compared the two women and how different they were.

Staring at the now empty glass, Coleiro debated whether to pour himself another drink when his door chimed, deciding for him. A grimace replaced the smile as duty and responsibility came rushing back as he put the cap back on the bottle.

"Enter," he said, turning to face the window.

As the door opened, he figured it was Lieutenant Hanson with another status update or damage control report. A female voice clearing her throat caught him off-guard.

"Uhhh... Hi."

#### oOoOo

Faith was dealing with her own flood of emotions along with bruises and sore muscles after losing the match...

After the Captain fled the gym, Cassie came over to check on her as she picked herself off the mat. She noted the worry and concern on Cassie's face, but rather than say anything, she joked about the whole incident. Cassie noted the bruises on her neck, but Faith played down the fight, saying there had been no real danger. Cassie still didn't seem convinced, but didn't push the matter.

Faith didn't know what was worse... losing the match or returning all her winnings, but she didn't go back on her word. She'd slinked back to her quarters, taking a long shower to ease her achy muscles and embarrassment from having gotten her ass handed to her.

As she took advantage of the plentiful supply of hot water, her thoughts drifted back to the match and what had happened. She replayed the fight in her head while an inner voice mocked her for under-estimating the Captain.

His attack when she held the advantage bothered her. She'd hesitated at that crucial moment, which wasn't like her, recalling his eyes. They were so dark and void of life for a moment she thought The First Evil or some other demon had possessed him. Despite the hot water, she shuddered, recalling the Captain's eyes and his expression, recognizing the blood lust and rage that filled him.

Something set the Captain off... one moment she was trash talking him and the next he came at her like a berserker. She wondered what she had done or said to set him off.

_All I said was something about sending him home crying..._

Her thoughts returned to why she hesitated. She had no explanation for why she did it. The last time she hesitated in a fight was when going up against Angelus, but that had been part of the plan to save Angel.

This was different as she recalled the Captain's eyes and the pained looked on his face when he realized what he was doing. She shivered again, recalling the intensity of his eyes even then.

Her thoughts drifted back to Sunnydale and how he'd saved her life and the ride to the airport, especially how she'd held him on the ride. A moment of realization struck her as she replayed their confrontation in the gym before the match. She conceded that _maybe_ she should have handled it better.

Faith went over everything she knew about the Captain. Buffy and Xander had almost gushed about their meeting with him. Xander seemed to have developed a man crush for the Captain, making him out to seem like a Captain Kirk-type character. Cassie had mentioned he was a decorated soldier, but he didn't seem to fit any of her preconceived molds she had for men.

The Captain reminded her of Riley, but something darker and more dangerous lurked there. She compared him to Robin, but again the comparisons seemed to fall short. She considered maybe he was a mix of Riley and Robin with a dash of Giles thrown in, but even then it didn't seem right.

As she rehashed the confrontation that led up to the match, she recalled how excited she'd been when he challenged her. It was like a part of her wanted the fight to occur to see what kind of man Captain Coleiro was.

_Well, you got your answer along with getting your ass handed to you,_ an inner voice mocked.

She had to admit an aura of sex appeal surrounded the Captain... he could fight, ride a motorcycle, fly a jet and commanded a spaceship. Another shiver caught her by surprise, but it had nothing to do with being cold. She recalled how turned on and excited she'd been during the wild dash to the airport.

Faith pushed those thoughts aside as she dried herself and got dress. Despite the shower, she was still antsy and now craving a smoke. A frustrated sigh escaped because of the restriction against smoking on the ship. Sitting in her room did nothing to help her agitated state. A walk around the ship was what she needed. She needed some alone time, giving no thought or consideration to asking for an escort.

It didn't take much to get past security as she wandered the ship's corridors, checking out each deck. She passed the occasional crewman, but only drew curious glances as she continued her exploring. Yet, even this walk did nothing to keep her thoughts from drifting back to the Captain.

On an impulse, without considering what she was doing, she stopped a crewman in the corridor and asked for directions on how to find the Captain. The crewman gave her a strange look before making a sarcastic comment about the match. Faith bit back her reply because she didn't want to cause any problems. It became important for her to find the Captain, so she ignored the crewman's comments and the looks he gave her.

The crewman used a communications panel in the corridor to contact the bridge. He informed her the Captain was in his quarters. Faith again surprised the crewman by asking for directions, taking some amusement from the flabbergasted expression on his face.

Now, she stood awkwardly in front of the Captain's door, finding herself filled with an unexpected hesitation. It had been easier to ask for directions and get here than it was for her to knock.

She lost track of time staring at the door, before finally taking a deep breath and shaking off her hesitation. As she pressed the door chime, her mind played out different scenarios of what she would say and do, and explain why she was here.

It seemed like an eternity before she heard the Captain's voice and brushing away any lingering hesitation, entered his cabin. Of all the scenarios she'd played out in her mind, what she hadn't expected to find was the Captain standing only wearing a towel.

The scene gave her more insight into him as she absorbed all the details... like the glass in his hand and whiskey bottle next to him. It was clear he'd just gotten out of the shower, but the way he stood in front of the observation window, looking out into space, awakened something in her. Yet, even with this new insight, she felt strangely off balance and surprised at seeing this side of his character.

She admired the unexpected scene, her eyes locking on the droplets of water beading on his body. Her blood stirred, catching her by surprise as a growing, wanting itch flared inside her.

She would have made a biting remark laced with sexual innuendo, but this time she didn't want to put her foot in her mouth. She took a fresh approach...

#### oOoOo

Coleiro whipped around, forgetting he was only wearing a towel, to face a smirking Faith. There was a momentary sense of confusion and self-consciousness for his position, but he recovered as he saw her studying him. He never backed down from a challenge or fight, so held his position, meeting his unexpected guest's gaze, not moving to go change or apologizing for his current attire.

"What can I do for you?" he said.

Faith bit her tongue to keep herself from blurting the instinctual comment in her head. From the Captain's body language, she knew he wouldn't curl up or run off and hide, just because she had caught him at a slight disadvantage. She realized he wouldn't run off or give up unless he wanted to, or it suited his needs.

_He would probably still look all "Captain-like" even if his towel fell off,_ she thought.

Her eyes ran up and down his body. She knew he had a well-toned body, but she was now getting an even better view. Small scars crisscrossed his arms and chest, but what caught her eyes was a large scar on his lower torso, just peaking above the top of his towel. It looked like an old burn scar, and she wondered how far down it went.

As her eyes moved down his towel, her thoughts drifted into more erotic territory. She shook off those thoughts, her eyes snapping back up, as she remembered the Captain had asked her a question.

"I wanted to talk to you about the fight," she said, trying to keep her eyes and thoughts focused. The change in his face made her regret asking the question.

"Yeah... I'm sorry about what happened. How's the throat?" he replied, his face taking on a somber expression.

His face reminded her of the pained look on his face when he realized what he was doing. It bothered her to see him in pain and she wanted to change the mood, "What do ya have to be sorry about? See... bruises are already going away. It's one benefit of being a Slayer. Besides, you beat me fair and square. It's been a while since anyone took me like that," she said, giving him a smile.

The anger with himself flared, mixing with embarrassment over his loss of self-control along with something else he couldn't put into words. He saw her smile and could tell she was trying to let him off the hook, but he wasn't ready to forgive himself that easily.

"I-I could have... I shouldn't have fought you. It's been years since I've done anything like that. I could've handled it better. It wasn't my place or role to jump in like that."

Faith couldn't believe the Captain was apologizing to her. Out of reflex, she analyzed his words for any other agenda, but her surprise grew seeing that his apology was genuine. Again, she held back her standard sarcastic response. This wasn't the time or place for one of her quips. She wanted to say something to snap him out of his mood, so she tried changing the subject.

"I've had worse, plus I think I had something to do with how things played out too," she said, shrugging. It pleased her to see the surprised expression on his face.

She added, "You know for an old man, you fight pretty good. It didn't look like years out there. You used to fight lots?"

Coleiro saw the olive branch she was trying to extend. He still didn't feel he deserved it, but he took it, "Back when I was in the academy and the first couple of years with the expeditionary force. I was undefeated for five years before I hung it up," he said, nodding and giving Faith a small grin which changed the manner of his face.

She didn't know what surprised her most... that the Captain was that good of a fighter or the way his face lit up when he smiled. His face looked younger and even better looking with the grin compared to the serious image he always seemed to project. She found that she much preferred this side of him.

Coleiro studied the young woman in front of him for a long moment. Again, he compared her to Sonia, noting the similarities and differences. There was something in her that grabbed at him. The way she held herself, and her eyes... he saw the predator lurking just below the surface, ready to strike out.

He became self-conscious of only wearing a towel as his thoughts drifted. In his younger days, he would have already made a move on Faith with an almost guaranteed certainty her clothes and his towel would be on the floor. His eyes strayed over to his bed, and a rush of blood, moving to other parts of his body, forced him to focus and concentrate on other things.

_His ship... His crew..._

The weight of command and his responsibilities came rushing back as he gazed at Faith. He'd never been ambitious about his career other than flying Veritechs. Even though there was talk about moving him up the chain of command, he was more than happy to stay a squadron commander. A part of him wanted to keep flying until he got his Viking funeral.

But now, what he wanted took a back seat to the expectations placed on him. He was treading in deep water, trying to keep a handle on this crazy situation. He tried thinking what Max, Admiral Hunter and Sonia would do in this situation to help guide him. His biggest fear was letting down those relying on him... he'd been down that road before.

A moment of awkward silence descended on the room as they stood there looking at each other. Coleiro ended the stand-off, "You wanted something?"

Faith's pulse quickened as her eyes wandered over the Captain again. She tried not to laugh at his phrasing as she called up _one_ of her reasons for being here.

"I was wondering if you would show me some of those moves you used on me?" she said, meeting his eyes. Her heart beat faster as the growing itch continued nagging at her.

Her request caught him by surprise, "You want me to instruct you in fighting?" he said.

"Whoa, I wouldn't go that far. I've been fighting almost my whole life and being a Slayer means I've picked up a few things here and there," Faith said, laughing.

"And, yet I did put you on your ass," he replied, grinning. Her attitude, brashness and rough edges reminded him of his early days at the academy.

_That I didn't get kicked out for all the shit I pulled, was nothing less than a miracle..._

She liked how the Captain could dish it back without missing a beat. Faith grinned, "Yeah, there's that."

Coleiro's first inclination was to say no. He was too busy for games, but her face and eyes made him rethink his decision. A sigh escaped as he hoped he wouldn't regret this decision, "As you know, we're a little short-handed on the ship. We're all busy trying to get her back into operation..."

A sense of disappointment filled Faith as she listened to the Captain.

"But maybe we can squeeze in a few sessions in the gym, depending on our operational status."

A part of her wanted to shout out in excitement, which surprised her, but she repressed it as a huge smile grew on her face. She tried to sound calm and blasé, "So when do we start?"

Coleiro shook his head, "I've got to go on duty. I'm down in the main hanger bay working with Chief Larson."

Faith tried not to let her disappointment show through. Before she realized it the words were escaping her mouth, "Whatcha doing there?" It surprised her to realize that she was interested and curious in what he was doing.

The question surprised him as he realized they weren't just engaging in polite conversation, "Well, I'm helping the Chief get our drone fighters repaired. Other than Lieutenant Evans and myself, we have no fighter pilots and until we can get crew trained, we're a little defenseless."

Faith suddenly felt self-conscious about her lack of knowledge. She wished she'd paid more attention to Willow when she'd babbled endlessly on about the ship and its technology, "Drone fighters?"

Coleiro didn't notice or let on about her self-consciousness as he explained, "Computer-controlled aircraft... the latest and greatest. Takes eighteen years to get a Veritech pilot and the Invid have us outnumbered, so our engineers developed the Shadow drone fighter. We can mass produce them and they fight well enough to counteract our enemy's numbers. We had drones assigned to the Arcadia to support our fighter squadrons. Those that survived the battle transitioned here with us, but they're damaged and they need to get repaired."

"Sounds boring," Faith replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, it's not glamorous work, but we need the fighters so it needs to get done," replied the Captain.

"So, how about after you're done we... ah... do some grappling?" she said, getting a twinkle in her eye, running her eyes up and down him again.

The Captain thought he picked up something different in her tone. Again, thoughts of what the younger him would do flashed through his head. Once again he found he needed to focus to keep his equilibrium from growing and showing through his towel.

_I'm too old for this..._

These feelings caught him by surprise because it had been years. There was a time when he would have bed a woman like her and walked away without a second thought. He didn't need this problem... he'd compartmentalized his life and emotions to focus on what he needed to do. The last thing he needed now was some young woman to come crashing into his life... no matter how beautiful.

_Soulless bastard, one woman had called me..._

He'd matured enough to realize Faith deserved better than that. He sighed, looking into her eyes, knowing she would not take no for an answer, "I won't make a promise I can't keep. We might squeeze time in later and I can show you a few moves."

Faith was struggling with some mixed emotions the more she talked with the Captain. She was excited he would make time for her and had no agenda to get into her pants. He hadn't been condescending or made fun of her when she showed her ignorance about the drone fighters. He treated like a person rather than an object. The only other man that treated her this way, and she believed to keep his word, was Angel.

Yet, a small growing voice told her to rip off his towel and ride him until one of them screamed uncle, but she kept the voice and urges in check.

Lost in her thoughts, she got caught off-guard as the Captain moved closer to her. The small voice and her urges screamed as he leaned closer, and she became even more aware of how under-dressed he was.

Time froze as her heart pounded and her mouth and lips became suddenly dry. She lightly licked her lips as her senses heightened, sensing the heat coming off his body along with the fresh clean shower scent. Her urges and desires caused her to miss what he was saying.

"H-Huh?" she sputtered out, trying to keep her equilibrium.

The Captain flashed a small knowing smile, seeing her off-balance, "I said, excuse me. I need to get my uniform from the closet behind you. I can't go to the hanger deck dressed like this."

Faith recovered a sense of equilibrium to realize what was happening, "Huh... Yeah... right..." she mumbled, moving to the side. She took a deep breath to calm herself as the Captain pulled a clean uniform from the closet.

As he retreated to the bathroom to change, she licked her lips still flustered as his forceful presence lingered. It took another couple of deep breaths to regain a sense of normal. Her eyes drifted to the bottle and glass on the frame of the observation window. She knew she could use a strong one.

"Do ya mind if I have a drink?"

"Help yourself. There's a clean glass in the top left-hand drawer of the desk," Coleiro shouted back from the bathroom.

Faith didn't hesitate, opening the desk drawer to grab a glass. As she grabbed the glass, she saw a picture frame turned upside down. Her curiosity got the best of her as she picked up the frame and turned it over.

The picture was of two young people in uniform hugging each other, mugging for the camera. Her eyes widened in surprise, recognizing Captain Coleiro as the younger man.

She studied his smiling face in the picture. What caught her was his eyes. She immediately recognized the eyes of a predator... _a killer_ in that picture. An involuntary shudder escaped as the intensity of his eyes gripped her from the picture.

She shifted her attention to the young woman in the picture who couldn't have been much older than twenty-two and attractive, wearing a similar styled uniform. The woman had her blonde hair cut short, which seemed to highlight her face and features even more. She was leaning in close, so their heads were touching, with her arms wrapped around the Captain's neck. A big smile filled the blonde's face, and it struck Faith like a slap, recognizing the expression... it was one of happiness and love.

A wave of self-doubt and insecurity hit Faith as she stared at the picture. She heard a noise from the bathroom and shoved the picture back in the drawer. She grabbed the bottle of whiskey, trying to push away the image of the happy couple now burned into her mind. A myriad of thoughts and emotions flowed through her head as she poured herself a drink.

_Of course a guy like him would have someone... He's good looking... a fighter pilot. He's probably married to the blonde..._

Disappointment now mixed with her self-doubts as all her faults and shortcomings came racing back. She felt out of her element and league as she downed her drink. As the warmth of the whiskey hit her, she glanced around the cabin. She got a funny vibe as she looked around and it took a moment to notice what was causing it.

_If he's married or hooked up with the blonde, how come there're no other pictures of her? That's funny... there're no personal pictures other than that picture stuffed in his desk..._

She got a sense there was something more going on, noting the cabin's spartan décor and lack of personal pictures. Faith poured herself another drink as her gaze drifted back towards the bathroom where the Captain was.

_You're a mystery Captain Coleiro... Who are you?_ she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	22. What's got you so happy?

## CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO  
What's got you so happy?

_"Even though standard blood and toxicology reports have come back as normal, I'm still worried about side-effects from the patient's consumption of this plant. I'm running a more detailed DNA genetic analysis on my patient's blood samples…"_

— Excerpt from the private journal of Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Jacobs (Monument City, 2018)

#### oOoOo

"Hey!"

The voice caught Cassie as she exited her quarters. A smile filled her face as she turned to see Xander jogging down the corridor towards her.

"Hey yourself," she said as he stopped in front of her, bending over to catch his breath. Cassie couldn't help herself as her smile grew as she looked him over.

"What?" he said, giving her a funny look. A smile grew across his face in response.

"Nothing, just glad to see you," she said.

"Well, that's good. I was wondering if you want to grab a bite and spend some time together? You've been pretty busy these last few days," he said, giving her a hopeful expression.

Cassie's smile faded, which caused a disappointed face on Xander as he realized what the answer would be, "Sorry, I wish I could. I'm scheduled to go down to the main hanger and work with the Captain and Chief Larson."

"I thought the Captain gave everyone the day off?"

She sighed, "Yes, he did. But I'm helping with repairs on our fighters. We need those fighters back on-line."

Xander shrugged, "What? You guys expecting an attack? Not from Earth? You guys got us out-classed by miles!"

Cassie shook her head, "No, there's no threat, it's just better to be ready… just in case. We only have the Captain and me to provide fighter cover."

"Beautiful looks, a fighter pilot and smart… the triple whammy all in one complete package," he said, grinning.

Cassie blushed, "So you understand? We can meet up later?"

Even though he understood she had responsibilities and a job to do, he still couldn't stop his disappointment from showing through. He wanted to spend more time with her because it seemed they were spending less time together here. An idea struck him…

"Maybe, I can help? I've worked construction and know my way around tools. I know it's not the same, but if you need someone to run as your gopher, then I'm your man."

"Gopher?" Cassie said.

Xander laughed, seeing the confusion on her face, "You know… go for this… go for that. Hell, I'll even sweep the decks if it means I get to spend time with you."

Cassie shook her head, laughing, "You're incorrigible."

Xander feigned an insulted face, "I would let you know people have called me many things, but they've never called me incorrigible."

"Well you are," Cassie replied, taking his hand and dragging him with her. He faked resisting for a few steps before giving in with a laugh and following her to the hanger bay.

#### oOoOo

As they walked, holding hands, Xander was thinking of how to bring up a matter of concern with Cassie. Giles and Buffy had urged him to talk to Cassie, and he'd agreed with them, but it didn't lessen his growing guilt. He hoped he wasn't about to wreck his growing relationship with Cassie by bringing up this concern.

"Uhhh…" he said, only to find his brain failing him at this crucial moment.

Cassie picked up on his tone and stopped to face him, "Say what's bothering you."

Xander almost slapped himself, forgetting Cassie wasn't a normal-type girl… being a soldier and an officer, "Sorry, brain cramp," he said, adding a sigh.

"Well, think your words first before you speak," she said, smirking.

Xander laughed, seeing the twinkle in her eyes, "You disrespecting me… the Xan Man? I won't stand here and get disrespected!" he said, raising his voice in mock indignation.

Cassie stepped closer, putting her arms around his neck. The heat from her body radiated out, causing his heart to pound. Gazing down at her, he saw the smirk on her face along with something else.

"I would never think of disrespecting you," Cassie whispered, pulling him closer to kiss him.

Xander's heart skipped a few beats as the kiss seemed to last an eternity before she pulled away. A sense of disappointment flared inside him as she pulled away.

"Tell me what's bothering you?" she said, giving him a soft smile.

Xander took a moment to regain proper thought control as other parts of his body called dibs on his blood supply, but he put his words together.

"Giles, Buffy and I… we're worried about the Captain, and what happened with Faith."

Cassie sighed as she stepped back from Xander. The talk going around the ship was all about the Captain and how he'd gone full berserker on Faith. She had to admit her worries too, "Yeah, I know what you mean. The Captain was in full 'Coleiro Fury' mode. I checked on Faith afterwards, but she laughed it off and said not to worry."

Xander shook his head in disbelief, "He gets like that all the time?"

Cassie shrugged, "I've seen glimpses, but I've heard stories about his temper. Most of them are from his younger days. One of my instructors at the academy flew with the Captain in Skull Squadron. He mentioned in an off-handed comment once that half the stories and rumors don't even tell the whole story."

"Sounds like quite the character?" Xander said.

"Yeah…"

"And, then there's that but," he said, seeing Cassie's worried face return.

"I was there, Xander… he almost killed her," she said.

"I know."

"But, he didn't…"

"I realize that too."

"So what do we do?" she said.

Xander sighed, not believing they were talking about possibly committing mutiny against the Captain.

_Oh, well, I already look like a pirate…_

"For now, we watch the Captain and if things get worse…" he left the rest unsaid.

Cassie nodded, thankful Xander hadn't finished the sentence, not believing they were discussing the unthinkable. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, and the Captain wouldn't get any worse. She took Xander's hand and squeezed it, getting a return squeeze as they continued their way towards the hanger bay.

#### oOoOo

The Captain sported a cheerful smile as he entered the main hanger deck. He stopped as Chief Larson approached, giving him a strange look.

"What's got you so happy today?" she said, eyeing the Captain.

"Don't know what you're talking about Chief. I would also like to remind you of rank protocol when addressing a superior officer," Coleiro said, giving the Chief a big grin.

His good mood stoked her curiosity, "I'll repeat my question. What's got you in such a good mood… Sir?" Larson said, emphasizing the 'Sir' with a little mocking tone in her voice.

Other than Sonia, when she was alive, Larson was the only other person he let get away with pushing his buttons or making fun of him. An image of Faith flashed in his thoughts and his grin turned into a smile. He noticed the Chief again studying him.

"What?"

"Just checking to see if it's you, Captain. I heard about your little tussle in the gym. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Chief, just a few bumps and bruises. No problems."

"Uh-huh… How's the shoulder?"

Coleiro sighed, knowing the Chief wouldn't let him off easily, "Okay, it still hurts… a bit. It felt like she almost pulled it out of its socket."

Larson gave him a hard eye, showing her concern and worry.

"What?" he exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Just find it surprising you survived the match. You haven't done any sparring or fighting in the ring for years, and you jumped in there with no hesitation."

"I'm not that old and out of shape… yet, Chief!"

Larson smirked, giving him a shrug, but then the smirk faded again to a worried face, "Sir, are you sure you're alright?"

Coleiro considered the question. He realized Larson had seen the match and worried about his state of mind. Despite his aches and pains, he was in a good mood. His inner anger and rage were quiet, along with being in a somewhat optimistic mood.

"I'm okay, Rachel… honest," he said, grinning.

The Captain's use of her first name caught Larson by surprise. She couldn't believe to be seeing the Captain in an honest to goodness real good mood.

After watching the match, she'd been expecting the worse. She'd seen his face and feared the worse. When he was in full rage mode, it almost always ended in blood being spilled. She didn't know what pulled him back, but she was glad that no one got injured… or worse.

Larson had a sneaking suspicion the woman was the cause for the change in the Captain's mood. She'd picked up on what had transpired in the gym leading up to their match, and her curiosity grew to find out more about this woman.

She was glad to see the Captain in a good mood, but a sense of protectiveness towards him washed over her. Ever since finding out whose son he was, she'd watched over and worried about him. Her thoughts drifted to another time, comparing the Captain to another friend long dead.

_I was so damn young back then…_

Memories of a father with his young son on the hanger deck of the SDF-1, played in her head. She gazed upon the man that boy had grown into and was now the closest thing she had to family. Yet, for all they'd shared and gone through, there were aspects and parts of his life he'd never shared or discussed with her.

_There was only one person he ever really talked to…_

"So, I understand she's tough. She dropped Sergeant Bronowski. He's good… almost as good as you," Larson said, studying him for a reaction.

Coleiro grinned, "Yeah, she's stronger than she looks, and she's got fast reflexes."

"Guess you're not over the hill yet… Captain," Larson said, adding a grin.

Coleiro tried to glare down the Chief, but they ended up laughing.

"I guess I've still got a few years left… and I guess you're stuck with me," he said.

Larson feigned her distress, holding her hand to her forehead, "Oh heavens, whatever shall I do?" she said, grinning.

Coleiro laughed, shaking his head, "Okay, enough of the fun and games at my expense. What's the status on the drones?"

Larson's face changed to a more serious expression with the shift to more important issues, "Our recovery teams brought back thirty-five Shadow Drone fighters. I've checked out a couple and the weapons and power systems appear to be intact along with the airframes."

The Captain picked up on her tone, knowing it wasn't good news, "But…?"

"It looks like the transition here fried their AI systems."

The Captain absorbed the news, "Can we fix them?"

"We have to pull the whole module, but we've got lots of spares. Once we've got the replacement modules in, we can do a system power up, download the OS and then run them through their startup initialization. Once that's completed, we can check the rest of the systems, and find out if they'll fly again."

"How long?"

"I've already started one to get an idea of what we're dealing with. They're a bitch to get at and remove, so we're looking at least a couple hours per plane just for the AI modules," Larson replied, sighing.

"How are you on bodies?"

"Got myself and a mix bag of techs, and Lieutenant Evans is here," Larson replied.

"You put her to work?"

"You betcha, Captain. She even brought a friend," Larson said, adding a snort.

"Was that friend tall, dark and wearing an eye-patch?" Coleiro said, grinning.

Larson laughed, "Yeah, I swear violins were playing and you could smell the roses the way those two were looking at each other and holding hands."

Coleiro shook his head, "I never realized you were the romantic type, Chief?"

"Sir, there are a lot of things you don't know about me," she replied, smiling.

"If I remember my history, I made you an offer, years ago," he said, smirking. Memories of their first meeting, and how she'd sent him crashing and burning flashed in his head.

Larson laughed, "Sir, with all due respects, if I'd accepted your offer I don't think we would be friends now…"

Coleiro nodded, hearing her words and remembering how he treated women and relationships in his youth. He valued Larson's friendship and support more than anything he would have gotten from some fling.

Larson leaned closer, giving him a sly smile, "Besides, if we'd slept together, I would have broken you for all other women!" she whispered.

He gulped as her husky tone caught him off-guard. When he glanced into Larson's eyes, he realized she was probably right. He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts as the Chief stepped back, still giving him that sly smile.

"Is Mister Harris getting in the way?" he said, recovering his equilibrium.

"Nah, he asked if he could help. After I showed him what to do, I put him to work. He's pretty good at it… a natural with good hands," she replied.

Coleiro nodded, happy they had an extra set of hands to help. He let the Chief take point to lead him to a fighter to work on.

#### oOoOo

Faith stared at the food on the tray in front of her. It looked good, but with her mind preoccupied on other things she picked at it, taking the occasional bite. As she replayed her encounter with the Captain, she found herself in a hungry mood, but it wasn't for food.

The more she thought about and replayed the encounter, the more confused she got. What made matters worse was her imagination veering into more erotic and X-rated territory as her restlessness grew.

She'd been hoping that grabbing something to eat would distract and settle her down, but it wasn't working. It wasn't like her to get this worked up over a guy, and it bothered her.

She considered banging on Robin's door and seeing if he wanted to go another round in bed, but dismissed it. Even checking out the men in the cafeteria didn't help… she ended up comparing them to the Captain.

Her thoughts shifted, catching sight of Anya sitting with her soldier, talking and laughing as they ate together. A sigh escaped Faith as she tried to make sense of what she was experiencing. She tried to deny the growing sense creeping into her thoughts she didn't just want any man… she _wanted_ Captain Coleiro. A familiar voice interrupted any further pondering.

"Hey."

Faith shook off her distracted thoughts, "Hey Buffy, what's up?"

"Mind if I sit?"

Faith shrugged, holding out her hand to the empty chair across from her.

"You okay?" Buffy said as she sat down.

The question took Faith a little aback as she tried to figure out what Buffy wanted, "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Buffy eyed her, "I saw the fight between you and the Captain…"

Faith sighed, reading Buffy's worried expression, "Everything's fine… No broken bones, and everybody walked away."

Buffy remained unconvinced, so tried a different approach, "I'm surprised he won… I didn't think he could fight like that," she said.

Faith smirked, "I thought I had him too. He's faster than I expected and he knows how to fight. He threw some moves at me I hadn't seen before."

"I'm surprised to see how you're taking it. I figured losing would upset you more," Buffy said, studying Faith's reaction.

The question surprised Faith as she realized losing the match wasn't upsetting her. It had been the thrill and excitement of taking on the Captain mattering more to her than the results. She picked up on Buffy's questions and tried to downplay the whole incident.

"It was only for fun, it wasn't like life or death out there," Faith said, shrugging.

"Faith, I watched the fight. You guys were pushing the boundaries out there. It looked like you were going at it for real, especially when he pinned you," Buffy said, shaking her head.

"Where are you going with this?" Faith said, tiring of all the dancing around.

Buffy leaned in, so no one would overhear them, "We're worried about the Captain. He almost killed you… Hell, he would have killed you if he hadn't stopped at the last moment. I saw his face."

Faith shook her head, surprised to discover she wanted to defend and explain for the Captain, "It's nothing… it was my fault too."

Faith's response surprised Buffy. She got the sense Faith was covering for the Captain, but wasn't sure, "We're concerned about his mental state. He's in command of a spaceship with lots of weapons. The last thing we need is a crazy Captain with nuclear weapons."

The sudden flash of anger at Buffy calling the Captain crazy and unstable surprised Faith. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she said something she would regret, "Everything is copacetic. I stopped by his cabin and talked to him. Everything's cool between us. He even apologized."

Buffy's eyes widen in surprise at this revelation, "Y-You talked to him?"

Faith took some satisfaction at seeing Buffy's shock, "Yeah, he felt bad about the whole thing, and I told him it was no sweat."

"But he tried to kill you," Buffy said.

"He's not the first one to try," Faith replied, staring at Buffy.

This wasn't the conversation Buffy had expected. It surprised her to find Faith defending and explaining for Captain Coleiro. She took a moment to regain her thoughts, "There's something going on with him, and we need to be careful."

Faith sighed, understanding Buffy's position, but she didn't like it, "Okay, I get the message. It shouldn't be hard for me to keep an eye on him."

Buffy eyed her fellow Slayer, "What're you talking about?"

A sly smile broke on Faith's face, "Just that the Captain and I are meeting up later, when he's off duty. I asked him to show me those moves he used on me, and he said yes."

Buffy blinked in disbelief, "You-You and the Captain?"

Faith didn't say a thing, but continued smiling.

It took Buffy a moment to recover from this news as she put her thoughts together, "You might want to take it easy. We're guests on this ship," she cautioned.

Faith's laugh caused people sitting nearby to glance in her direction, "You afraid I'll break these people or their ship?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "No, it's just that I know you. I don't want you to do or say anything that might piss these people off… especially the Captain."

Another flash of anger hit Faith as her smile faded, "You implying something? Spit it out!"

Buffy sighed, wishing Giles was here to back her up, "Faith… Please don't sleep with the Captain. It could complicate the situation," she said.

Faith closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and as she counted to ten, her anger released… somewhat. Despite her feelings and confusion, a part of her conceded Buffy had a point. Her history with men wasn't a stellar record with her relationships measured in hours or days at the most. She considered telling Buffy what she was experiencing, but decided she needed to deal with it on her own.

Faith sighed, "Relax, if anything was going to happen it would have happened already. When I stopped by his cabin earlier, I walked in and found him… wearing only a towel," she said, a grin growing as she recalled the memory.

"Y-You found him what? Wearing what?" Buffy sputtered out.

Faith enjoyed seeing her fellow Slayer off balance, "Yeah, he was just out of the shower and it was quite the view. He's got quite the bod for an older guy, but it was all no-sex. We talked, so you can unbunch your panties and stop worrying about it."

A mix of emotions hit Buffy. What surprised her was the jealousy seemingly coming out of nowhere as she replayed meeting the Captain… the intensity of his eyes and how she'd checked him out.

Her thoughts drifted along unexpected paths. She had to admit Captain Coleiro was even more impressive knowing he could hold his own in a fight against a Slayer. She shook off the embers of desire to focus on the matter at hand, "Please tell me you didn't do or say anything dumb?"

Faith wanted to rebut Buffy's verbal shot, but realized she had a habit of saying and doing the wrong thing sometimes, "Like I said, relax. Everything's okay between me and Captain Crunch," she replied, sighing.

A horrified expression filled Buffy's face, "Tell me you didn't call him that to his face?"

Faith shook her head, giving Buffy another sly smile, "I always liked the cereal, especially on Saturday mornings watching cartoons as a kid. Must be the hat or something."

Buffy stared at Faith in disbelief, but she couldn't help herself as a smile broke and she laughed.

#### oOoOo

Xander wiped the sweat from his face, trying to keep it out of his one good eye. Sweat had already run into his dead eye socket, but he was used to the pain and irritation. His shirt clung to him, covered in sweat, a testament to the hard work. He didn't mind because it was a good sweat, and he was contributing and being useful with the bonus of spending time around Cassie.

His inner child squealed at having this chance to work on fighter planes that flew and space and transformed into huge robots. It seemed like a dream when they walked on the hanger deck and he took in all the fighters parked with crews crawling over and under them.

He'd been a little intimidated and wondered if he'd bitten off more than he could handle when he offered to help. It seemed all too much that he expected to just stand around, watching, while Cassie worked. Chief Larson changed his expectations… she wasn't about to let anyone on her hanger deck just sit around and not work.

The Chief took Xander in tow and showed him around, asking him questions. The Chief wasn't what he'd expected of someone overseeing the maintenance and care of fighters. She radiated a beauty and strength, much like Joyce Summers had, despite the sweat and grime soaked coveralls.

Xander kept his mouth shut and listened as he discovered the Chief didn't suffer fools and wouldn't take shit from anyone. He'd tried explaining his lack of qualifications and experience, but it didn't dissuade her as she gave him a crash course in what she wanted him doing. It intimidated him at first, but he grasped what she wanted him to do, and he threw himself into it.

What surprised him was how Cassie deferred to the Chief even though she outranked her. During a break, Cassie explained that in the hanger bay Chief Larson was the god-in-charge.

She told him of the stories she'd heard about Larson… a veteran of the First Robotech War, having served on the SDF-1 with Skull Squadron. He didn't understand everything she'd gone on about, but it was obvious from the awe in her voice this was important to her.

Xander made a mental note to do reading up on Cassie's history when he had a chance. It was important to him to share things with her.

Xander took a moment to catch his breath, looking up into the open access panel at the electronic guts of a Shadow Drone fighter. He had no experience with planes or high-tech electronics, but Larson's quick tutelage gave him enough for removing the plug-and-play modules.

It was hard work, but he got into a rhythm as he got a better grasp of what he was doing. Something tapping the bottom of his foot drew his attention. Turning his body around, he found Cassie kneeling beside the fighter.

"What's up?" he said, taking in her smile.

"You want to take a break and grab a drink?"

"I'm in a groove here… Chief Larson might rip a strip off me for slacking off," Xander replied, smirking.

Cassie laughed, shaking her head, "You're making us look bad by how hard you're working. Plus, it was also the Chief's idea… more like an order for us to take a break."

Xander arched an eyebrow in surprise, hearing Chief Larson wanted them to take a break. He'd half-expected her to work him until he collapsed, "Be right out!" he said.

As Xander pulled himself out from underneath the fighter and brushed himself, Cassie smiled as she studied him. He differed from anyone she'd known… he wasn't military, but he'd been fighting his own war for years.

She recognized the look in his eye as the same one she'd seen in Captain Coleiro and other veterans. They had all seen pain, suffering and death, but he still had a sense of humor and still cared. She'd seen older REF veterans who'd stopped caring, but Xander wasn't like them.

"What's on the menu?" Xander said.

Cassie held out her hand, which Xander didn't hesitate to take. She led him across the hanger bay to a smaller machine shop area, "Well, we've got water or soft drinks… your choice."

"I think I'll stick to water for now," he replied.

Xander smiled, watching Cassie go grab the drinks. He still found it hard to believe she was a fighter pilot, and she wanted to spend time with him. His attention turned back to the hanger bay, glancing around he noted the people still working on the fighters.

It surprised him to discover Captain Coleiro still hard at work, getting dirty and sweaty with everyone else. He expected the Captain to be on the bridge, but here he was crawling underneath the drones just like one of the little people.

What was even more surprising, considering his and Cassie's concerns, was to find the Captain in a good mood. He appeared to be even friendlier and more relaxed than when they'd first met.

_He seems calm now. For someone we're worried about being unstable with access to nukes, if he's crazy, he can sure put on an act…_

His attention shifted back to more immediate things as Cassie returned with their drinks. He didn't realize how thirsty he was, savoring the water as he took a long gulp. Cassie also took a long gulp of her drink, "How long have we been at this?" he said.

Cassie gave him a tired smile, "About six hours… The Chief mentioned about letting us go grab food and then some rack time."

Xander mirrored Cassie's tired smile, "Sounds good, you got any dinner plans?"

Cassie's tired smile switched to a more coy expression, "You asking me on a date?"

Xander opened his mouth to give one of his witty retorts when a figure walking across the hanger bay caught his attention. Surprise and confusion filled him, catching sight of Faith crossing the deck, heading towards the fighter Captain Coleiro was working on.

#### oOoOo

As Faith walked across the hanger bay, she couldn't help both being impressed and intimidated. She'd ended up here even after trying to keep herself distracted. It wasn't for lack of trying as she'd explored the ship, checking out the lounges and recreation rooms. There were lots of interesting things to see and do, but it did nothing to keep her mind off the thoughts swirling around in her. It still bothered her how she couldn't get him out of her thoughts as her frustrations boiled over.

She decided to track down the Captain, recalling him mentioning he'd be working in the main hanger bay. It took longer than planned to find the hanger bay, taking several wrong turns. Only after batting her eyelashes and suggestively smiling did she find a willing crewman to give her directions.

Now, walking across the deck, she gazed upon the fighters lined up in rows and felt out of place. She also caught sight of huge robot machines standing off to the sides of the bay, like soldiers standing at attention, and it seemed unreal, like from a movie. It didn't seem possible that machines could change shape, but they did as she recalled the Captain's motorcycle and his fighter.

She'd seen the Captain crawl under a fighter when she entered the hanger bay. Her first impulse was to shout to catch his attention, but she resisted the urge going for a more subtle approach.

She glimpsed Xander and Cassie as she made her way to the fighter, but her focus was on something else. Anyway, she figured she'd been more than patient, by her standards, waiting for him. This was better than wandering the ship or waiting in her cabin, trying to deal with all these confusing thoughts and emotions.

As she approached the fighter, she saw the Captain's feet sticking out from underneath. A moment of hesitation gripped her, not knowing what to do or say. She stood there, looking at his feet, trying to figure out what to say when he spoke.

"Chief, you got that replacement module?"

A small smirk grew on her face and was about to answer him when a voice from behind caught her by surprise.

"Right here, sir."

Faith turned to face an older looking woman. As she appraised the woman, she noted the older woman studying her too. The older woman's short brunette hair had some gray streaks, but it only added to her looks rather than detracting. Sweat, grease and dirt smeared her face, but she wore it well, like a badge of honor. The woman projected an aura of toughness and experience, and Faith realized she wouldn't be an easy pushover in a fight.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the older woman said.

Faith met the woman's eyes, "The name's Faith… I stopped by to see the Captain," she said, nodding her head towards the Captain's feet. The growing smirk on the other woman's face caught Faith by surprise.

"Captain… You might want to come out here," the older woman said.

"Huh? What's up?" Coleiro said, squirming his way out. He wondered what was going on as he saw the two pair of feet waiting for him. When he cleared the fighter's fuselage, he looked up to see Chief Larson and Faith both looking down at him.

A momentary sense of alarm filled him as he noted both women smirking at him. He became self-conscious, and for a moment wondered if his fly was down.

"It looks like you have a visitor, sir," Larson said, picking up on and enjoying his obvious discomfort.

"Uh… Thanks Chief," he said, standing up. He brushed himself off and straightened his dirty and sweat stained uniform, trying to appear a little more presentable.

"Hi…" Coleiro said, seeming awkward, confused and surprised by Faith's appearance in the hanger bay. Despite the confusion and any apprehension, he was also happy to see her.

"Hey, yourself. It looks like you need another shower," Faith said, looking him over and still smirking.

The Captain scratched his head, grinning, "Yeah, this is dirty work."

"I like dirty…" she replied, surprising herself as it hadn't been what she'd planned to say. Though his expression made it worth it as she tried not to laugh.

Chief Larson shook her head, watching the exchange and seeing Faith put the Captain back on his heels.

_He must be out of practice… there was a time he would've given back without batting an eyelash,_ she thought, again checking over the other woman. She was definitely getting a third wheel vibe from these two.

"Ahem…" Larson said, catching the other two by surprise.

Coleiro gave Larson a strange look before the realization sank in, "Uh… sorry, Chief. Faith… this is Chief Rachel Larson. Chief, this is Faith."

Larson extended her dirty hand to the younger woman. Faith immediately picked up on the older woman testing her. She didn't hesitate, taking the offered hand, but holding back her strength. The Chief's firm grip surprised her and confirmed her early appraisal of the woman.

Larson eyed her, "Just Faith? No last name?"

Faith grinned, "I gots a last name… never used it much unless the cops wanted it."

She noted with satisfaction the point she scored, catching the Chief's surprised expression. She pressed her advantage.

"So, Chief… what do you do on this tub?"

Coleiro winced, picking up on the baiting and stepped in before things got worse, "Uh… Faith, why are you here?"

Faith's smirk was still there as she turned her attention back to him, "It's been hours and I got bored. I thought I would wander down here and see what you were doing. I was thinking we might still get in that practice you promised."

The Captain noted the astonishment washing over Larson's face. He didn't know whether to laugh or to duck-and-cover as he struggled to keep his composure.

"We're still pretty busy. I don't think—," he said.

Larson interrupted him, "It's okay, sir. We're pretty much done swapping out all the modules. We still have to load the operating system and do the system re-initialization. I'm sending people to go grab food and rack time. It will be at least another twelve hours before we've finished restoring systems and can begin system checks."

Coleiro eyed Larson, "Maybe I should stick around, Chief," he said.

"No-No, I insist you and your friend here go on your date or whatever you had planned. I can finish up this one," Larson said, giving the Captain a big crooked grin.

Faith didn't hesitate, jumping in and grabbing the Captain's arm. Before he could react or argue, she was dragging him towards the hanger bay bulkhead door, "You heard the boss lady. You're not needed right now. Besides, you promised we would have a tumble."

The thought of resisting flashed in his head, but he gave in to the inevitable. He shrugged in resignation, realizing he wasn't going to win between Faith's determination to drag him away and the Chief enjoying his predicament.

As she dragged him away, a small smile grew as his excitement flared being with Faith again. As a confusing mix of thoughts and emotions filled him, he almost missed Larson's last words as they headed for the exit.

"Have fun you two, and make sure that the Captain is home before midnight… he needs his beauty sleep," she said, trying not to laugh at the scene.

The Captain tried for a snappy comeback, but Faith beat him to the punch, "I'll make sure I tuck him in myself!" she said, adding a laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


	23. You wanna pick this up later?

## CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE  
You wanna pick this up later?

_"Received a call from Dr. Lazlo Zand today. I got the impression he was trying to probe me for information on the requests I made about the alien plant life. His tone and line of questions bothered me so much, my hands trembled after the call. I understand I'm crossing a line here, but the rumors surrounding Zand make me uneasy at the thought of telling him about my patient. To protect my patient, I've gone back and changed his records and my notes to remove any references linking him to this alien plant. I've also decided not to inform my patient or Commander Sterling about Zand's inquiries. My concerns are so great, I hesitate to even keep my private journal. I pray to God what I'm doing is the right thing…"_

— Excerpt from the private journal of Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Jacobs (Monument City, 2018)

#### oOoOo

"Sir, if I may speak freely?"

The Secretary of Defense nodded to General Coulson.

"This plan is insane! We haven't learned their full capabilities, but we know they're more advanced than us and yet we're going ahead with this!"

The SecDef sighed, "General, the Vice-President, myself, the Joint Chiefs and the National Security Council discussed this extensively. Whatever we may think or believe, the President believes the object around the moon represents a 'Clear and Present Danger' to this country and the planet. He has given his approval for this operation and has convinced the Russians to provide the heavy payload lifter needed. The modified craft and its weapons loadout are already on site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and is being mated to its launch vehicle. Our launch window is to take place in less than two hours with intercept estimated to take place in roughly fifteen hours."

"Sir, this _will_ blow back in our faces… with god knows what repercussions for us and the planet!"

The Secretary gave General Coulson a hard stare, "General, the Commander-in-Chief has made his decision and given us our orders. Whether I agree with this mission is now moot."

"Sir, I know the Joint Chiefs called on you to resign because of your opposition, but still—"

The SecDef cut-off Coulson, "General, whatever the JCS's want is irrelevant! For now, I still enjoy the support of the President and despite my reservations, I will support him. They presented him with what is our only plan to conduct an offensive strike against this unknown force."

Coulson shook his head, "Sir, it's a suicide mission for that shuttle crew. I know the Chairman of the JCS, he's pissed about his precious new F-22's getting their asses handed to them. He's reacting out of anger and pride and not giving this any rational thought."

"General, those aliens violated our airspace, compromised our defense systems and communications, and fired on our soldiers! I understand the Chairman's argument," the SecDef replied.

"Sir, these unknowns went out of their way to not kill our pilots, when they didn't have to. That has to count for something?" Coulson pleaded.

"The Chairman doesn't think much of our visitors. He framed his support for the mission, arguing the aliens didn't have the guts to finish what they started, and others including the Vice-President supported him."

Coulson gave the SecDef an incredulous face, "Jesus, tell me that the President didn't buy that argument?"

The SecDef sighed, replaying his private conversation with the President in his thoughts, "No, he doesn't buy it, but he's under a tremendous amount of pressure. The Hill along with the press are all screaming for answers about what happened and what he's going to do. We're barely keeping a lid on this. It's only a matter of time before the news leaks about aliens landing on Earth and making a joke of our defensive systems. The panic will be unimaginable."

Coulson added his own sigh, "I understand, sir. Is there anything I can do to help?"

The Secretary of Defense didn't even hesitate with his response, "I want you in the Situation Room with me during the final phase of this operation. I want you on hand _when_ this operation goes sideways, and we need other options."

#### oOoOo

Coleiro extricated himself from Faith's grip outside the hanger bay. It didn't look good for the crew to see their Captain being dragged around by a civilian.

A cloud of awkward tension descended on the pair as they walked together with neither one of them knowing what to say. It wasn't until they got on an elevator and Faith noticed the Captain pushing the button for the wrong deck did she break the silence.

"Where do you think you're going?" Faith said, reaching across to push the button for the gymnasium's deck.

"Uh… I was going to clean some of the dirt and sweat away, and change into something more appropriate for training," Coleiro replied.

"You look fine with what you got on," Faith said, leering at him as memories of him wearing a towel played in her head.

"Besides, I've already got my training clothes on," she added.

The Captain sighed, shaking his head, realizing Faith's determination to get her way as he let the elevator bypass his deck to take them to Deck-Two.

The gym was empty as they made their way to the training mats where they'd fought earlier. Coleiro watched as Faith took her jacket off, revealing a tight, low-cut tank top.

His pulse quickened as his eyes locked on her body, wondering why he hadn't noticed her earlier. He shook off his distraction as he moved into the middle of the mat and stretched. A snort of laughter caught him by surprise.

"Whatcha doing?" Faith said, shaking her head.

Coleiro eyed her, "I thought I would stretch… you know, loosen the muscles before we begin. You might want to do the same," he said.

"I'm a Slayer. We don't need to stretch. We're built limber and flexible," she replied, moving to join him in the middle of the mat.

"Well, I'm not a Slayer. I'm just an aging fighter pilot and I would like to at least work out the kinks. Plus, I have been working," he replied.

He didn't add he was still suffering the effects from their earlier fight as the dull throbbing in his shoulder reminded him of how capable and strong she was.

"Maybe I should call you Captain Gramps?" she said, smirking.

Coleiro rolled his eyes, shaking his head, at her trash talk. He ignored Faith's amused looks as he did quick stretches, "Okay where do you want to start?"

"How about you show me some of those punch blocks you did? I've never seen blocks like that before. They were pretty effective," she said.

They faced off against each other and the Captain walked through, having Faith throw mock punches and how to react and deflect the blow. After showing her several times, they reversed places, and she practiced the blocks with him, speeding it up each time.

She learned fast, impressing him by how fast she picked up the moves. After more practice, she made the moves seem so natural, like she'd been doing them for years. He couldn't believe she'd mastered moves in minutes that had taken him years to achieve.

"Okay, I'm now officially impressed, and intimidated," Coleiro said, smiling as he took in her body and graceful movements.

Faith smiled at the compliment, "Thanks, what's next, Yoda?"

She noted the confusion on his face, "Sorry, you probably never saw that movie," she said.

Coleiro rolled his eyes, shaking his head which caused Faith to laugh out loud and smile. Her smile and the twinkle in her eyes drew him in. Another moment of awkward silence descended as they stood there looking at each other.

Faith broke the silence, not wanting the lessons to end, "How about the Bruce Lee leg sweep move you used to take me down? That's another one I haven't seen before."

The Captain smirked and moved to stand beside her this time. He walked her through the movements, using his hands to adjust her body position. Like before, they practiced the move, starting slow and progressing faster. Again, it didn't take her long to become proficient with the move.

"You know, that's scary how quick you pick things up," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Another benefit of being a Slayer. You ready to have another go?" Faith said, grinning.

A wave of hesitation filled the Captain. He'd shown her his best moves and counters and she appeared to have mastered them in moments, "Uhhh… Maybe we should take a break."

"Come on, Captain Gramps. Nothing too strenuous, we'll go slow. I wanna make sure I've picked up everything," Faith said, batting her eyes at him.

A reluctant sigh escaped the Captain, realizing this was going to happen no matter what as they took positions to square off once again.

They started, both circling and eyeing each other, trying to find a weak spot. For the Captain, it was different this time. The anger that had propelled him and given him an advantage wasn't there this time. Yet, he still took the initiative, striking out first with a punch. Faith reacted, blocking his strike, smiling as she countered and caught him in the torso. Coleiro staggered backward before regaining his balance to face her again.

Coleiro realized he would lose, but he wouldn't make it easy for her. He attacked again, faking left and moving right. Faith got caught off-balance by his attack, but recovered, blocking his strike and counter-striking before he caught it.

The next thing he realized he was lying on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Before he recovered, Faith straddled his chest pinning him to the mat. He tried using his hands to grapple and push her off, but her strength overpowered him, pinning his arms to the mat.

The Captain was in an unexpected and unaccustomed position as Faith leaned in with a look of triumph filling her face. As they each caught their breath, he realized how close she was. He became hyper-aware of her and himself in that moment, feeling the heat from her body.

"I guess you win…" Coleiro muttered, finding himself not upset at losing.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Faith replied, smiling.

A sense of triumph filled Faith, looking down at the Captain as she straddled him. She'd gotten her revenge, but thoughts about fighting faded as she reacted, feeling his body and the heat radiating from him.

Time froze as they both gazed into each other's eyes. The anticipation hung over them as they waited for what would happen next. His dark eyes pulled her in as a growing hunger and desire filled her.

She knew what she wanted, but a part of her still hesitated, telling her not to cross this line. Her body shivered as her heart beat faster, gazing into his eyes. She cast aside her doubts as her hunger and desire roared. She _wanted_ to cross the line, leaning in to kiss him…

The kisses started slow, but picked up in intensity as they unleashed their passions. Coleiro lost himself to the moment, enjoying Faith taking charge as she held his hands in place.

His body responded, causing Faith to grind her hips against him in response. The taste of her lips and mouth fueled something he'd thought long dead in him as he soaked up the sounds of her heavy breathing.

She finally released his hands, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. Coleiro was a little rusty, but his body remembered getting into the swing of things as he ran his hands up and down her body. Her breasts pressed against his chest and he moved his hands down her body, cupping and squeezing her butt, getting a soft moan in response.

There were no coherent thoughts… only want and desire. She didn't resist when he spun her on to her back, rewarded with another soft moan of pleasure as he pressed harder against her.

If it hadn't been for the ship's intercom system calling his name, he would have taken her right there. It took a moment for his brain to recognize and realize his name was being called. Disappointment filled her face when she realized what was happening as he pulled away.

"Ignore it!" she pleaded. She was ready and wanted to go further.

A part of him wanted to ignore the call. When he was younger, he probably would have, but the burden of command he carried with his responsibilities and duties were something he couldn't ignore now.

"I can't…" he said. The desire and disappointment obvious in his voice as he stood up. He took a moment to gather his balance and composure as the blood flowed back to his head. He headed to the communications panel on the wall and called the bridge.

Desire and disappointment mixed into a storm of emotions, confusing Faith as she watched the Captain talk to the bridge. She'd been ready to ride him, wanting to lose herself to the moment.

The intensity of what she was going through both surprised and scared her as she tried to understand what just had happened between them. His body heat lingered, which seemed to taunt her as he came back over. She read his face, recognizing he would leave, "You have to go… don't you?"

"Yeah, they need me down in Engineering," he said, giving her a disappointed face.

"Anything serious?"

"No… nothing major, but they need me down there."

"You wanna pick this up later?" she said, her eyes twinkling.

A huge smile filled Coleiro's face, "Damn rights I do!" he said, moving to grab her up in his arms and kiss her. Time fell away as she returned his kiss with the same passion and intensity. They finally pulled away from each other.

"Catch you later, Captain Crunch," Faith said, giving him a lusty smile as he turned to leave.

He grinned, shaking his head, "I think by this point you can call me Paul."

Faith laughed because she hadn't known the Captain's first name until now, "I don't know… I kinda like Captain Crunch."

"If you keep disrespecting me like this, I may have to spank you," he said, giving her a wink.

"We'll work up to that and more," Faith replied, laughing as Paul left, shaking his head, but smiling as he headed to Engineering.

#### oOoOo

_"Mission Control… this is STS-115. We are at full burn and are in the track. We have achieved escape velocity. Do you copy?"_

_"We read you Atlantis… You look good here. Confirmed engines at 100 percent. Maintain for another two minutes and adjust for targeted heading."_

_"Do we have confirmation the target is still holding at last position?"_

_"That's affirmative, Atlantis. Hubble and DSCS-5 confirm the target is still holding position."_

_"Any indication the target is aware of our launch?"_

_"We're picking up no ECOM or any other indications they have detected you."_

_"We estimate we will be within firing range in twelve point five hours. Confirm?"_

_"That's confirmed, Atlantis."_

Listening to the conversations between the shuttle's command crew and mission control, Captain Megan Blair exhaled a sigh of relief despite the g-forces pushing down on her. There was nothing for her to do at this stage of the mission other than sit back and enjoy the ride. Her job would come later as she suffered through the gravitational forces as the shuttle roared higher, doing something never designed for… escaping Earth's gravity into space.

Even as the shuttle broke orbit, Megan still struggled to come to grips with the situation she found herself in. It was only a few days since she received orders to report to Edwards Air Force Base and hustled aboard a C-17 transport plane with other personnel. The next thing she knew, they stepped off the plane in Kazakhstan.

With barely time to catch her breath, her situation veered into the Twilight Zone when an Air Force General briefed them on aliens attacking the United States. She'd naturally known of the radar and communication outages, but hadn't suspected the true reasons behind it. She was only a weapons specialist, so was still trying to figure why she was in Kazakhstan.

The General soon remedied this lack of knowledge, informing everyone the aliens seemed to be holding back, using the moon to shield their presence. Only when told they were planning a counter-attack against the aliens did the reality of the situation hit Megan hard. She'd joined the Air Force after college to push herself and her limits, but this was beyond anything she'd expected or even dreamed about.

Now, she was trying to reconcile her new reality strapped inside a space shuttle, hurtling through space towards the moon. Their cargo of eight 200 kiloton fusion warheads mounted on AGM-69 short-range attack missiles they planned to use against the aliens only added to the surrealness.

#### oOoOo

The knock on her cabin door caught Buffy by surprise. She'd been getting ready for bed, so wondered who it could be, running through the list of possibilities in her head.

It was Willow's worried face that surprised her more when she opened the door. Willow brushed past Buffy, not even waiting for an invitation, and paced around the cabin. Alarm and worry filled Buffy, seeing her friend in this agitated state, "Will, what's wrong?"

Willow didn't hear her as she continued pacing and mumbling. Her fears and alarm grew enough she grabbed Willow, stopping her in mid-pace to focus, "Willow, tell me what's going on?" Buffy said.

Willow sighed, getting herself under control, "We've got a problem… it's about Dawn."

#### oOoOo

Coleiro was dragging his ass as he headed back to his cabin. His visit to Engineering had gone several hours longer than he planned. It was bad enough the visit added to his long list of problems and worries, but he was having problems focusing as his thoughts kept drifting to Faith. Their encounter had thrown him off-balance that several times he had to ask Commander Schmidt to repeat himself during his briefing.

Being away from her gave him some time to put what had happened and what he was experiencing into some perspective. As he replayed their encounter in his head, a part of him responded pushing past his tiredness wanting more. Out of reflex, he checked the time, wondering what she was doing at the moment.

Any thoughts of calling on her faded seeing the time. He sighed, struggling with his conflicted thoughts and emotions, deciding it was better to not follow up on his promise to pick up from where they'd left off.

_Maybe it's better this way,_ he thought, recalling the hunger and intensity he experienced with her. He had to admit what happened and what he felt scared him. It would be easy to brush this off as not having been with anyone in a long time, and he was acting out of repressed sexual frustration and horniness. Yet, there was something between them he couldn't… _didn't_ want to admit to. If he admitted to this possibility, it would lead him down a path he'd been down before, and that path only led to pain and grief.

He tried to push Faith from his mind by going over Commander Schmidt's briefing in Engineering. The Commander reported still getting anomalous readings from the space-fold system with no explanation or cause for it. He expressed his confidence they could execute a space-fold, if they needed to, with no problems. What concerned the Commander more was something else he'd discovered.

With the sensors coming back on-line, Schmidt used them to gather information about the event that brought them to this alternate universe. From the scans of space around the ship and where they'd transitioned here, he detected an electromagnetic spectrum wave frequency and plotted the affected area. This frequency seemed to have similarities to the anomalous readings from the space-fold system and corresponded to their space-fold field.

What concerned him was the affected area appeared to be expanding, albeit at a slow rate. They were still only working with a limited amount of data gathered from the space-fold event that brought them here. He stressed how important it was getting the rest of the sensors back on-line to help track and monitor this energy anomaly.

The Commander mentioned another mystery he was encountering. With the sensors coming back on-line, he scanned the ship to calibrate them. He reported detecting a strange energy wave pattern emanating from the ship. The signal was so faint it barely registered on the scanners, but it was there and definitely coming from inside the ship.

The Commander thought it was a fault in one of the power conduits, but all the boards reported green. He planned to do a more detailed trace of the signal to determine the origin, but because of its faintness didn't worry too much about it for the moment.

Coleiro filed the Commander's concerns and worries away as he reached his cabin door. Another brief image of Faith flashed in his head, but he brushed it aside as he entered his cabin.

Almost immediately, his combat instincts kicked in as he sensed something wrong in his darkened cabin. Before he could react his bedside light flipped on. His eyes widened in surprise to see Faith lying across his bed. She answered the question forming in his head.

"You should lock your door better or get a stronger lock," she said, smirking.

A tired smile came to his face as he shook his head. His pulse raced, gazing at Faith stretched out across his bed, "If I knew you wanted to wait for me, I could have just given you access," he said.

He noted how gracefully she moved—like a predator hunting its prey—getting off the bed in one smooth movement, coming towards him. His heart pounded as she came closer, and he swore he felt the heat coming off her body. He found his tiredness slipping away as the deep hunger returned and grew inside him.

She suddenly pushed him back against the wall, catching him by surprise, but he didn't resist even when she tore open his uniform, exposing his chest.

He replied by pulling her close to him, her body pressing against his. Her face entranced him as she pulled him in and they kissed. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled back and smiled, gazing into his eyes.

"I'm not waiting anymore…" she whispered, kissing him again. This time there were no interruptions as they tore off each other's clothes, hurrying towards the bed.

#### oOoOo

Corporal Elliot Nakano had the late night security shift. He didn't mind the night shift as it was quiet unless the ship was at alert or combat condition. This gave him extra time to engage in his hobby of reading old books.

His current focus was on "A Tale of Two Cities", he'd already read it twice before, but it was one of his all-time favorites.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" he mumbled, savoring each page as he lost himself in 18th century Revolutionary France. He sighed as the flashing communication panel pulled him back to the present, forcing him to put down his book to answer the call.

"Security, Corporal Nakano here."

_"Corporal Nakano, this is Ensign Connors on the bridge."_

"Yes, ma'am!"

_"We've gotten reports of a disturbance on Deck-Six. Something about yelling and screaming. We need you to check it out._

"Yes, ma'am! We're on it!"

#### oOoOo

It was as if every nerve in her body was on fire as another wave of pleasure rolled over her. Faith was no novice to sex, but this was a whole new level of experience.

She'd started on top because she liked to be in control, guiding and controlling the pace and rhythm. She couldn't even recall and didn't complain when they switched positions as it seemed like a natural progression. All she understood at this moment was she wanted Paul inside her, and she wanted… _needed_ him to be the one in control.

Her body kept responding to the pleasure as another moan escaped her lips, but she had no control over what was happening as she gave herself to the moment. A part of her wondered how much more she could take, but her body and overstimulated pleasure centers didn't care as another climax stirred in her.

There were no words or explanation for what he was experiencing. His body seemed to feed off her pleasure, tapping into reservoirs of energy he never knew existed, as she moved and moaned under him. He didn't want to hurt her, seeing her face twisted in pleasure, but he _couldn't_ stop now even if he wanted to. It was as if he was leaving his body as he built up for his release. Knowing he was close, he whispered her name between heavy breaths.

Faith realized he was close as his body increased its rhythm and she responded, moaning louder even more to the pleasure. She kept her eyes shut as her building orgasm took all her focus and concentration. She suddenly heard her name, sounding like thunder in her ears, and realized Paul was saying her name.

Her eyes popped open and as she focused, her eyes locked on to his eyes. She gasped, seeing his eyes now turned a deep dark purple with no white showing. There was no fear as the dark orbs pulled her in, getting lost in them. It was if her soul was being pulled in by a beauty beyond words, and some great truth was being revealed to her as another orgasm took her.

Time was irrelevant as he took in her eyes, hearing her deep hard breathing between moans of pleasure. In that moment, a blue and white world—his Earth—transposed itself with Faith's face. Every nerve and fiber in his body burned with pleasure as the image formed in his mind…

The image of his home world came alive as an immense column of pure blinding energy erupted from the planet's surface, climbing higher and higher into space.

At its apex, it suddenly transformed, becoming a gigantic bird—a phoenix of pure energy—extending its wings and soaring away. He couldn't recall ever seeing anything so beautiful as this phoenix and Faith's face mixed together.

Tears burned in his eyes as the phoenix continued soaring into space, taking him over the edge as his body released. Faith joined him, her screams of pleasure drowning out his cries.

#### oOoOo

Corporal Nakano just finished checking the crew quarters when a woman's muffled scream caught his attention. He determined the scream came from the Officer's Quarters area on the deck. A worried thought filled him, knowing the Captain's cabin was on this deck as he signaled his partner to follow him to check on the Captain.

It was quiet when Nakano and his partner reached the Captain's cabin. He knocked on the door and when he didn't get an immediate answer, he signaled his partner to step back to provide him cover as he knocked again. This time he called through the door as he knocked.

"Captain? This is Security. Are you alright?" Nakano said, his hand moving towards his side-arm, getting ready to draw it.

The door opening caught both the Corporal and his partner by surprise. Shock replaced surprise with the sight of the Captain standing in the doorway, holding a bed sheet wrapped around his waist.

Nakano blinked, staring at the Captain covered in a sheen of sweat and hair in a tussle. The Corporal wasn't sure, but he swore he saw scratch marks on the Captain's shoulders.

The Captain's voice shook him out of his stunned shock. To Nakano, it sounded like the Captain was trying to catch his breath… like he'd just been working out.

"Yes, Corporal. What is it?"

Nakano was no prude or uneducated in the ways of the world as he connected the dots and realized what the Captain must have been doing. Yet, he took a moment to find his voice, "Uh… umm… Sir, w-we've had reports of a… umm… a disturbance. We wanted to make sure that… uh… you… I mean… is everything okay?"

A woman's voice from behind the Captain caught Nakano and his partner by surprise, "I would say we're doing better than fine… wouldn't you, Captain?"

Nakano blinked as a beautiful brunette, wearing the Captain's uniform jacket and nothing else, stepped out to stand beside the Captain in the doorway.

His breathing and heart rate increased as his eyes wandered up her naked legs. He continued on to the jacket, hanging on her, and realized it wouldn't take much of a breeze to blow open the undone jacket, exposing more of her. His focus and thoughts were so intent on the woman, he missed what the Captain had said to him.

"Umm… sorry sir, I didn't hear what you said," the Corporal said, his eyes snapping to meet the Captain. He tried not to blush as the Captain gave him a small, knowing smile.

"I said, the lady is right. We're doing fine and there are no problems here. You're dismissed, Corporal. Have a good night."

"Uh… yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Nakano stuttered, turning to leave. He blushed again, noticing the look the brunette was giving him and the mischievous smile she had.

Confusion reigned as she leaned in and whispered to the Captain. The confusion turned to awkwardness as he wondered if his fly was open, but he feared to check. Confusion returned as a smile filled the Captain's face and he responded to the woman's whispers.

"You sure about that?"

The brunette nodded, giving the Captain a sexy coy smile which set off an involuntary rush of blood to other parts of Nakano's body. With his equilibrium off again, he almost missed the Captain speaking to him.

"Hang on for a second, Corporal. I have a… uh… request."

"Sir?"

"Umm… I want you to hand over your security-cuffs."

Nakano blinked, not sure he'd heard the Captain, "Sir?"

"You heard me, Corporal. Handover the cuffs. I'll make sure you get a replacement pair."

There was a long moment of silence as Nakano and his partner looked at each other in disbelief.

"Corporal!"

Nakano reacted as his training kicked in, "Sir!" he replied, coming to attention.

"The cuffs!"

"Uh… yes, sir!" Nakano said, reaching for his security-cuffs and handing them to the Captain.

"Thank you, Corporal. Now you're both dismissed."

Nakano glanced at his partner, noting the disbelief on his face, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," he said, adding absently, "Have a good night, sir."

Nakano couldn't believe the Captain's smile could get any bigger, but it did.

"We will Corporal… we will," the Captain replied as he and the woman headed back into his cabin, the door closing behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story continues on in "The Coming Storm" the next story of the "Shadows of the Apocalypse" saga...
> 
> All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.
> 
> Thanks to all that read this story.


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